Helena Laufeydottir, twin of the God of Mischief
by Starling Strider
Summary: Helena loves her brothers. She would do anything for them including go to Jotunheim to make sure they don't die. Helena loves her brothers but what will happen when her twin, her loving twin who she trusts more than anyone, starts acting suspicious and her older brother who she loves is banished to Midgard? Who's side will she choose? What brother will she betray to save the other?
1. Prologue

Odin entered the temple, his hand clasped over the hole in his head where his right eye had once been. He looked around for the Casket and spotted it sitting up on a pedestal, waiting for someone to pick it up. Odin took a step forward, prepared to grab the Casket and leave as quickly as he could, when he heard the loud wailings that only babies could make. Odin followed the cries to a crib tucked away in the corner of the temple where no one would possibly notice it. He looked inside and stopped when he saw the Frost Giant babies crying inside.

They were so small, the size of a normal Asgardian baby. To the Frost Giants they were probably runts, children unfit to live. Odin very carefully picked up the crying babies. One was a girl, the other a boy. They wailed loudly as he held them and Odin couldn't help smiling, remembering how loudly Thor had cried when he was born. These poor things, they were completely innocent. They had done no evil to anyone and they had been left to die by the Frost Giants. The beasts had no love for runts and they usually killed them quickly, ashamed that something so puny could be called a Frost Giant.

Slowly the babies stopped crying and they stared up at him, serene expressions on their little faces. Odin watched in amazement as their skin started turning from blue to tan and their eyes from red to blueish green. An idea slowly began to grow in the Allfather's mind as he stared at the babies in his arms. They were Laufey's children, there was no doubt in Odin's mind about that. But now they looked nothing like Frost Giants. They looked like Asgardians.

Odin carefully set them back inside the crib before pulling off his cape. He ripped it into two pieces then wrapped each baby up so that they'd be warm. He lifted the crib up easily in one arm and carried it over to the Casket, careful not to jostle the babies inside. With one hand the Allfather grabbed the Casket and held it beneath his arm. He then carried the crib and the Casket just outside the temple where he could easily look up and see the sky. "Heimdall!" He bellowed into the sky. Moments later the Bifrost descended and the Allfather was brought back to Asgard, bringing the Casket and the two Frost Giant babies with him.


	2. A Brief Battle

Helena smiled at her brother, determination in her eyes. "You aren't going to beat me this time brother, I swear you won't." She told him. She held her fists, ready for any attack her brother could throw at her.

Thor smiled at her, exhilarated. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to challenge Thor to a fight on his coronation day. He was already filled to the breaking point with adrenaline when Helena found him and now it was even worse. He could probably take on a herd of Bligesnipe right then and not be even the least bit phased. "We shall see little sister." Thor said tauntingly, holding his own fists up in preparation. With that, Thor lunged at his sister.

The great big blonde sailed straight through his sister, landing face first on the dirt behind her. Helena appeared above him, laughing wildly at him. Thor grinned up at her before grabbing her ankle and pulling her to the ground. Helena grunted as he back slammed into the ground but she quickly got over it, kicking Thor in the face with the foot he had ahold of. He released her instantly and Helena took her chance to leap onto her brother's chest and deliver several stunning blows to his bare chest. Thor growled in frustration and slammed his fist into Helena's side, sending her flying off of him. Helena skidded across the dirt ground of the training area, scraping up her side. She shot to her feet with a grunt, standing at the exact same time as Thor.

Helena was the first to move this time, teleporting from her current position to behind Thor. She hit him in the kidneys once, making him grunt loudly in pain, before he spun around and managed to land a stunning blow to her cheek. Helena felt her skin split open at the impact and the injury caused her adrenaline to skyrocket. She punched Thor in the nose, effectively breaking it. Thor punched back, busting her lip.

"What are you two doing?" A soft but attention grabbing voice said.

The siblings turned to see Loki standing not far away from them, a shocked and bewildered expression on his face. "Brother!" Helena and Thor cried out simultaneously, raising their arms into the air in a grand gesture.

Loki shook his head at them though a smile played on his lips. "Once again I ask, what are you two doing?" He said, looking at them. He eyed the injuries his siblings had given each other, noting how much worse Helena looked compared to Thor. Sure Thor had a broken nose and a split lip but Helena had a split cheek and a busted lip. On anyone else it would have seemed minor but on Loki's twin it seemed huge. He felt anger flare up in his chest and he wondered how in Odin's name Thor could hurt their sister so easily.

Helena saw the anger in Loki's expression and quickly passed a hand over her face, willing her magic to heal her injuries. Icy blue mist swept out of her hand and connected with the injuries, healing them in seconds. It was such a quick action that you couldn't even see the mist, Helena was just that good. She smiled at the slight decrease in anger on Loki's face when he saw her face fully healed. Helena ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

"Loki, my twin, where have you been!?" Helena exclaimed, looking up at her brother's face. He smiled down at her but there was something in his eyes that Helena didn't like. Loki may have been the God of Lies but Helena was his twin and a master of lies in her own right. Loki could hide nothing from her, especially not the guilt lurking in the back of his eyes as he stared down at her.

"In the library, reading. Now answer my question." Loki told her. He hated lying to his sister but he had to. No matter how much Helena loved him she would not allow him to do anything like what he was planning.

Helena quickly released her brother, giving him the smallest of glares that Thor would never notice. Loki could read her expressions like a book and knew she was silently asking him what he had done. "I was just getting our brother excited for his coronation!" She said, punching the air with her fists when she said excited. A smile appeared on her face and like always it brightened up the whole area. No one could resist smiling when Helena did and Loki was no exception. He smiled down at his little sister with amusement.

"Do you not think that Thor is excited enough already?" Loki asked her jokingly, nodding towards Thor who was trying desperately to stop his nose from bleeding.

Helena shrugged, smiling. "I needed the practice." She admitted. Loki smiled at her, finding her determination to become as good as Sif and Thor somewhat amusing. "After all, you refuse to actually fight me while Thor is more than willing to help me train." She added. It was true of course. Loki refused to hit his sister with anything but magic which was just too easy for her to block. Thor knew the importance of Helena's training; he was friends with Sif after all, so he never denied her a chance to fight.

Loki took a half step forward and held his twin's face in his hands. Helena smiled up at him though she was still ticked that he wouldn't tell her what he was up to. "I could never hurt you Lena. You are my little sister, my twin. I can't even imagine hitting you as Thor does." He told her. Helena sensed double meaning behind the first part of his words though. It seemed almost like he was assuring her of that fact, telling her never to doubt it. Before she could say anything though Loki had released her face and walked over to Thor. "Brother, your face looks awful." Loki said, chuckling slightly.

Thor shot Loki a glare but his eyes twinkled with amusement. "It is our sister's fault. She has learned much." He said. Thor sent his young sister a proud smile that Helena eagerly returned. She was a fine warrior, almost as good as Sif. "Though we need to have a talk about you using your tricks during a fight. I swear, you're getting as bad as Loki with that nonsense." Thor quickly added, reproaching her sister for using skills he thought were cowardly.

Both Helena and Loki rolled their eyes. Thor simply did not understand that magic could be just as powerful as weapons. The insult hurt Loki more than Helena though. Loki knew how to fight but he rarely did so, using magic whenever he could, while Helena kept up a healthy balance between using the two. She had proven talented in both fields of fighting and was almost a master in both of them.

"They are not simply tricks brother." Helena said, immediately defending her and her twin's talents. "Magic is useful! It can be just as powerful as any weapon and it has millions of other uses. All your hammer can do is smash and burn." She said, snapping a little towards the end. Helena did not take insults well and everyone knew it. Though she seemed the sweet passive girl she had a temper shorter even than Thor's.

Thor held his hands up in the classic "please don't kill me" gesture. "I apologize Lena, I meant no offense." He said quickly, trying to amend the mistake he'd made.

Helena's eyes seemed to blaze with fury then and her brothers took a step backwards, knowing distance was the best thing when Helena was angry. They saw sparks of her magic appear in the air around her and in her eyes. "Oh you meant offense. Or else you would not have said it." She practically hissed.

Loki quickly realized he had to step in. "Lena, imagine how mother will react when she sees Thor's face all bloodied up just before his coronation." He said quickly, smiling at her.

It took Helena a second but eventually she was laughing, imagining the anger that would appear on their mother's face. Her anger quickly disappeared and the brothers approached her, knowing she wouldn't accidentally blast them now. "Thor you are going to be in so much trouble!" She said, a huge grin on her face.

"Only until I tell her whose fault it is." Thor pointed out, grinning at her.

Helena stopped laughing, thinking about how their mother would turn her anger on her the second Thor told her what had happened. "You are right, unfortunately. We better fix your precious face." She said. Before he could say anything she waved a hand in front of his face and healed his injuries. Loki snapped his fingers when he was done; cleaning up the blood so there was no evidence of his siblings' fight.

"We should be getting ready." Loki said, looking up at the sun. He looked back at Thor, a smile on his face. "You do not want to be late for your own coronation do you?" He asked jokingly.

Thor grinned wildly. "Of course not! Come, let us get ready! I could use some mead beforehand anyways." He said excitedly before hurrying inside the palace.

Helena instantly turned to her brother and gave him a pointed look. "You will tell me what you are up to." She told him stonily. Her tone told him there was no point arguing but of course this was Loki who she was dealing with. He would argue until he died.

"I am up to nothing sister." Loki lied. He started walking back inside but Helena grabbed his arm and pulled him to a rough stop. He growled a little, hating how strong his twin had gotten. She was stronger than him now and could very easily push him around if she got mad.

"You cannot lie to _me_ Loki! Maybe to our brother and our parents and everyone else but _not _to me!" Helena snapped at him, zapping him a little by accident. She really needed to learn to get her temper in check. Loki didn't help her anger though, rolling his eyes in a way that he knew she despised. "Do not roll your eyes at me brother!" Helena shouted at him, this time zapping him on purpose and with much more intensity.

"Or what?!" Loki shouted, spinning around so that he was facing his twin. Helena took a frightened step back when she saw the anger on her brother's face. Loki immediately felt guilt claw at his insides, he hated being the reason for any negative feelings his twin got. Once he had made her cry and he had spent a week beating himself up about it, hating himself for hurting the one person on Asgard who understood him. Loki sighed and ducked his head, staring at the ground between his feet. "I apologize Lena. Today has been trying." He told her, his voice hushed in case someone heard.

Helena placed a comforting hand on her twin's cheek. He leaned into her touch, appreciating the contact. "I know brother. You know I do." Helena told him gently. Loki nodded; she was the only one who knew how he felt about the Allfather's choice. "But you cannot change father's mind." Helena said.

"I know but why would he choose Thor?" Loki asked, looking up at Helena as if she had the answers. She stared at him sadly, wishing she knew so she could put him out of his misery. "Thor does not understand that there's more to being king than just fighting. He would see the whole of Asgard at war simply so he could have a little fun! Does father not see that?! Does he not see what a brute Thor is?!" Loki practically shouted.

Helena shushed her brother gently, both hands on his face now. "I know. Thor is _horrid _at politics, treaties _baffle_ him, and he has _such_ a short temper. At this moment he would not be my first choice for king." She told Loki, speaking quickly. Helena hoped he didn't hear her "at this moment" comment but the pain filled light that entered his eyes told her he did. Helena felt a bit guilty but very. She didn't choose sides between her brothers and always talked about one of them becoming king as if the other had just as much opportunity as the other. "But we cannot change father's decision. All we can do is give Thor as much advice as possible and hope he actually listens." Helena told her brother, her eyebrows knitted together in worry. Worry for her twin, worry for her older brother, and worry for the future of Asgard.

Loki placed his hands over hers, smiling at her. She was so innocent, albeit she could be incredibly devious when she wanted to be. She saw Loki and Thor as equals, never raising one above the other in her mind. She was the only one though. Helena was the only person on Asgard who would not compare Loki to Thor.

"I was not in the library." Loki whispered to Helena, deciding that telling her at least part of his secret. Helena gave him a knowing look and he chuckled softly. "I was doing something that I should not have. Let us leave it at that." He told her.

Helena released her brother's face so that she could hug him. "Thank you for telling me. I won't press for more truth than that." She told him, her voice filled with trust. She released her twin and gave him one last smile before running inside. Loki watched her go, an emotionless mask on his face. His heart ached painfully, yelling at him for not telling his other half know the whole truth. For letting her trust him when he was about to hurt her horribly.

Loki let out a sigh, banishing any guilt filled thoughts from his head. He was doing what was right, what had to be done to ensure the safety of Asgard. He was sure that, in time, Helena would understand.


	3. The Coronation

**I have changed the coronation slightly. It'll be in the throne room instead of that gigantic outdoor hall looking thing. It's just easier to write it this way.**

Helena stared at her reflection with annoyance. Her maids stood behind her, ready to argue with Helena if she insulted herself. They were always telling her how they wished they could have her curvy build, her above average chest size, her long wavy hair that was blacker than a raven's wing, her blueish green eyes that apparently no man could resist. Helena thought she looked horrid though especially in the outfit her mother was making her wear.

The dress hugged Helena in all the right places, showing off her womanly figure. It was a light gorgeous blue that shimmered like water and it was made entirely of silk which felt great on the skin but was practically impossible to fight in since it liked to slip. There was a long cut up one side of the dress that stopped halfway up her thigh, exposing one of Helena's legs. A gold belt was just barely supported by her hips and the rubies and emeralds embedded inside it shimmered in the light. The vambraces on her arms matched her belt, gold with the different colored gems circling the top and bottom. On her feet were golden sandals that Helena found extremely uncomfortable. A cape rested on her shoulders, the color just a shade or two darker than her dress, and was latched around her neck with a gold brooch. It gave her a perfect place to hide the silver heart necklace Loki had given her.

"I hate it." Helena said, lifting up a small piece of her dress so her handmaids knew what she was referring to. "Sif gets to wear armor, why can't I?" She asked furiously.

"You are a princess of Asgard." One of her maids said immediately, using the usual explanation. "A princess must look the part and play the part."

Helena's expression darkened immediately. She never liked being told what to do and she especially didn't like all that "play your role" stuff. A princess was supposed to be good and proper. She was supposed to be a bargaining chip and marry whoever her father told her to. Helena didn't want to do that. She wanted freedom which was why she trained like Sif, to show everyone she wasn't going to be the typical princess.

"Well there are such things as warrior princesses." Helena grumbled out, furious. She walked over to her bedside table and started searching its drawers. Finally she found what she was looking for, a dagger enclosed in a thigh sheath. Helena quickly put it on, making sure the dagger's handle could be easily reached in whatever position she happened to be standing in. "Much better." She commented when she looked into her mirror. At least now she looked mildly threatening. She turned to her maids with a smile. "Now I can go." She told them cheerfully before snapping her fingers and teleporting out of the room.

Helena appeared inside Thor's bedroom, standing in the very center of the room. Thor's frustrated curses reached Helena's ears and she quickly realized he was in his changing room, trying to fix his cape to his armor. He always had difficulty doing that. Helena chuckled and went to leave when she spotted the large goblet of mead on Thor's bedside table. Helena narrowed her eyes in disapproval before teleporting to Loki's rooms.

Her twin was just emerging from his changing room when she appeared. Loki raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. "You managed to give your handmaids the slip already?" He asked her. She was getting more and more powerful every day, her powers were close to passing Loki's up.

His sister did not answer, she was too distracted. Her eyes were focused on his helmet, specifically the horns. She was fighting back a smile and failing miserably. "I am sorry brother." Helena finally choked out, chuckling. Loki smirked at her as she let out small burst of giggles. "It's just, the _horns_." She said before dissolving into a fit of laughter.

Loki grinned, walking over to her. "What? I think I look rather dashing." He said, putting on an overly exaggerated self loving look that made Helena laugh even harder. It was a lot like the look Fandral usually had on his face. Loki smiled down at his sister, enjoying her contagious laughter. "I might even get a woman tonight." He added, knowing Helena wouldn't be able to resist saying something back about that.

It took her a minute but Helena managed to stop laughing. She was grinning like mad though and random giggles burst through her lips. "I doubt you can actually find a woman who will take you seriously wearing that." Helena told her brother.

"Oh I think it can be done." Loki told her, grinning. Of course he knew he would have no chance to actually try and prove his sister wrong but Helena didn't need to know that.

Helena rolled her eyes before looping her arm through Loki's. "I doubt it dear brother. Now let's get to the throne room before father throws a fit." She told him. Loki laughed, thinking it would be funny to anger the Allfather. Helena knew his thoughts and smiled lightly, thinking that on any other day she would gladly help him anger their father.

When the twins emerged from Loki's room the guard standing in the hallway looked shocked. "How did you manage to get past me princess?" The guard asked.

Helena recognized the guard as one of the newest additions to the Asgardian ranks. He was the type never to let his mind wander while on duty in fear he'd miss something. Of course he was shocked, he thought there was no way anyone could sneak past him. Helena smiled at him, the smile being somewhere between secretive and flirtatious. "A girl has to have her secrets." She said cheerfully. The guard pouted a little, not understand. Helena wondered how he could possibly not know about her magical powers when it seemed like common knowledge.

There was the sound of a door shutting just a little too loudly and the siblings turned their heads to see Thor exiting his room, drinking from the goblet Helena had seen in his room. He looked nervous and the mead didn't seem to be helping. Helena looked at her brother lovingly, pitying him for his nervousness and worrying for his future. Loki looked at their brother too, his eyebrows knitting together ever so slightly as he felt another wave of guilt hit him. He forced it down again, reassuring himself that he was _not_ making a mistake.

Thor noticed them as he walked down the hallway and immediately came over, a smile on his face. He smirked up at Loki's horns before turning to Helena. "You look very beautiful little sister. We'll have to fight off the army of men wishing to court you." He told her, knowing how much she hated dressing up and trying to make her feel better.

Helena rolled her eyes at him but smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing. "Thank you brother but I doubt any man is brave enough to court me." She said, silently adding in her head that she didn't think she looked beautiful since knew better than to say she thought she looked ugly in front of her brothers. They would start shouting at her for picking on herself and insist that she was indeed beautiful.

"With that dagger attached to your thigh I cannot help but agree." Loki said jokingly. Thor laughed, nodding his head in agreement.

Helena rolled her eyes at her brothers though a smile was playing on her lips. "It has nothing to do with me brothers." She told them, catching their attention. They stared at her curiously, wondering what on earth could drive a man away from their perfect little sister. Helena smiled at their obliviousness. "It is you, brothers, that would send them running. You are rather intimidating and you slip into this threatening nature when you see some male other than family talking to me." She told them.

The brothers looked at her as if they couldn't believe her words but then they looked at each other. They were instantly reminded of things the other had said to a man Helena had been talking to which reminded them of the things they themselves had said. They looked back at Helena and shrugged very nearly at the same time.

"I suppose it is true." Thor admitted, smiling slightly.

"But you are our baby sister so it is to be expected." Loki added.

Helena rolled her eyes once more. "Then next time I stop one of you from being with a woman I dislike you are not allowed to complain." She told them angrily, hating being overprotected. Her grip on Loki's arm tightened and he winced, feeling her magic threatening to zap him again. Helena looked down the hall, her gaze distant. Loki knew she was probably searching the head of a nearby guard for the time. "We best be going." She said finally, coming back to reality.

The brothers nodded and they started walking towards the throne room, the room that was soon to be used to crown Thor king. Helena smiled at her brothers as they walked, glad for this moment of piece and normalcy before everything changed. She knew once Thor was crowned king their lives would never be the same. Thor would be spending all his time dealing with the affairs of the realm while Loki would go and sulk, hating the decisions Thor made because they were chosen without thought. Helena would try to spend time with both of them but eventually Thor would start a war that could only be solved by an arranged marriage between her and some king or prince. Life with Thor as king would be horrid.

Loki glanced at his twin, feeling the torrent of emotions inside her. He could see her thoughts written in her eyes and he knew he was the only one. Helena was the Mistress of Deception, though of course no one knew it. She could trick anyone into thinking or doing basically anything. Anyone except Loki. He could read her like a book. Her worries made him feel all the better about what he had done.

Finally the siblings arrived in the hallway leading to the throne room. Thor looked at the huge double doors before them and saw all the people inside. He felt nervous but he quickly smashed down that feeling, not wanting to be weak. He turned to his siblings, wanting to get away for a little while before the ceremony. "We shall hold our own private celebration after everything has settled down, just us and my friends." He told them quickly. The twins nodded their agreement and Thor quickly left, heading towards a room he knew would be deserted.

Loki and Helena watched their brother go, emotionless masks on their faces. Loki still felt guilty so he pulled his arm out of his sister's grip and took a step in the direction Thor had gone, determined to talk to his brother and tell him in the subtlest of ways that he was sorry for doing what just had to be done. Helena caught his wrist before he could take another step though and he was surprised when he saw the panic on her face.

"Where are you going Loki?" Helena asked quickly. She was worried he'd go after Thor and say something he shouldn't. Loki got blinded by his emotions sometimes and him doing something like that would not surprise Helena in the least.

Loki smiled at her, thinking her worry was amusing. "Do not fret dear sister." He said gently. Loki glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing distance, not wanting any of Thor's friends to hear and report back to his wild tempered brother. "Thor seems nervous. I simply want to talk to him, help him banish his fears before he's crowned king." Loki told her.

Helena smiled at him, glad he was still being kind to Thor even if he was jealous. "Can I come along?" She asked him hopefully, wanting to spend as much time with her brothers as possible before their lives were ruined.

Loki looked down at his smiling sister and felt horrible. "Not this time Lena." He told her. He felt his stomach twist into a thousand knots when he saw the disappointed, almost distraught, expression appear on her face. Loki quickly tried to mend her hurt feelings, taking her face in his hands and placing a brotherly kiss on her forehead. "Don't get upset sister. I beg you, don't get upset." He told her urgently, as if his life depended on her happiness. Loki looked into her eyes and silently begged her not to hate him. "It's just that I want to spend my some brotherly time with Thor before his coronation. Before I start to resent him." Loki explained. He tried to make his final comment sound like a joke but it didn't come out that way. He sounded dead serious despite the fact that he knew Thor would not become king today.

Helena nodded, turning away from her brother. "I understand. Go, calm his nerves." She instructed him, trying to appear nonchalant. "If you see him drinking, do your best to stop him. It would not be good for him to be drunk before his coronation." She told him before quickly walking into the throne room.

The God of Mischief watched his twin disappear into the sea of people with a frown. He would have let her come along usually but he couldn't this time. She'd hear the double meaning in his words and know something was up. He couldn't risk her finding out, not now. Not when he'd already done so much. Loki sighed and teleported to the room he knew Thor would eventually come to. It was an old meeting room with a large open balcony. Silk curtains hung from the ceiling and Loki remembered how when they were children he had played in this room with his siblings, darting between the many curtains as they did.

Thor entered a few minutes later, draining the last of his mead from his goblet. Loki had barely taken notice of it earlier, being more used to their brother's drinking habits than their sister, but now it seemed impossible to overlook. Loki sighed, why did Helena always have to point out the things he wished to ignore? He did not want to worry over Thor's drinking habits now but as he threw the goblet into the fire and shouted for another he felt himself mentally preparing a speech about his older brother's alcohol intake. Loki did not really care how much his brother drank but Helena did. She knew Thor so well too, she'd expected him to get another drink. Loki did not know whether she had just been guessing by his behavior that he'd drink more or whether she actually knew more about Thor's drinking habits than she let on. Probably both.

Loki appeared out from behind the curtain he was standing behind, letting Thor know he was there. Thor nodded his acknowledgment at his brother and stopped before a few feet from his brother. Loki immediately took his place beside his brother and turned to him, smiling. "Nervous brother?" He asked jokingly.

Thor laughed loudly, turning to Loki. "Have you ever known me to be nervous?" He asked, smiling at his brother.

"Well," Loki said in a thoughtful voice, "there was that time in Nornheim." He said. Loki remembered it well, it was one of the few times he'd felt superior over Thor.

"That was not nerves brother." Thor said immediately, frowning slightly at the suggestion. "That, was the rage of battle." He explained.

Loki raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly, not hiding his exasperation well. "Ah I see." He said, his voice flat. Thor desperately needed to learn the lesson that humility wasn't the worst thing in the universe.

Thor turned his whole body to Loki now, looking mildly angry. He did not appreciate getting accused of weakness, even if it was by his brother. "How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?" He asked, sounding somewhat smug.

Loki paused for a second, looking at nothing in confusion. Did Thor really just say that? "Uh as I recall I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape." He said, looking at his brother with an expression somewhere between annoyance and hurt. Did Thor really remember things like that? Did his mind seriously twist events where he had lacked something into moments of triumph? Loki wondered in anger how many more of his victories Thor was taking credit for.

"Yes." Thor said, not notice the cupbearer approaching them. Loki noticed though and his frowned deepened as he tried to figure out how to get rid of the goblet before Thor could drink it. "Some do battle while others just do tricks." Thor jested, secretly thinking that magic could never be as powerful as a weapon.

Loki smirked at his brother's magical naivety until the cupbearer began laughing heartily at Thor's jest. Loki looked over at him, his face emotionless as his anger flared up inside him. Suddenly he knew exactly what to do with Thor's drink and he twisted his hand, working his own magic. The cupbearer stopped laughing almost immediately when he saw what was happening to the contents of the goblet. He glanced between Loki and the goblet a couple of times, the snakes rising up out of the glass as he did. The cupbearer finally le tout a little shout and dropped the tray the goblet was on, spilling the three serpents out.

Loki laughed at the face the cupbearer made while Thor stared down at the goblet, looking somewhat upset. "Loki." Thor said reproachfully, fighting back a smile. It was good to hear Loki laughing genuinely after these past trying weeks. His brother had been acting so cold since their father announced Thor's role as future king. "Now that was just a waste of good wine." Thor said, glancing over at Loki with a disapproving look.

The younger brother laughed a little more but quickly put on a remorseful innocent look. "Oh it was just a bit of fun." He said quickly, the words running together. It reminded Thor of when they were children and Helena would accuse Loki of things. He'd always rush his speech, as if he was afraid she'd hit him before he got it all out. Loki looked at the cupbearer, the mask of innocence still on his face. "Bye my friend." He said, flicking his hand to banish the snakes.

Thor laughed and Loki joined in, both of them watching the cupbearer as he scurried out of the room. Loki looked ahead, hiding his surprise at Thor's laughter easily. He hadn't expected Thor to laugh; usually his older brother was much kinder to the servants. Loki guessed it was Thor's nerves making him act oddly, unable to even consider the idea that his brother had simply laughed because he had missed Loki's antics. Thor's laughter died as he thought about how his relationship with his siblings would change after today. Loki's died soon after as he thought about what would happen within the hour.

A guard came practically running out of the shadows, Thor's helmet in his hands. Thor took it quickly, wondering how on earth he had forgotten to grab his new helmet before leaving his room. No doubt Helena had noticed it and had sent the guard to fetch it, pouring on her charm so as to get what she wanted. Thor smiled down at the helmet as he thought about his sister's antics.

Loki looked over, his eyes immediately landing on the helmet. It was his new one, the one their mother had forged as a bit of a congratulatory gift to Thor. Loki wondered briefly if she would have done the same for him had he been picked. Probably not. Frigga knew Loki did not care much for weaponry and armor. Still, seeing the coronation gift made Loki jealous and he had to swallow his anger. Loki glanced up at Thor and saw his older brother's smile disappear and be replaced by nervousness once again. Loki cursed himself for caring about his brother as he searched for something to say.

"Ooo." Loki said, recalling Thor's attention. "Nice feathers." He said seriously.

Thor laughed heartily, turning back to Loki. "You don't really want to start this again, do you, cow?" He asked, looking up at the horns on his brother's head. He still didn't know why his brother chose to wear that out of all helmets he could have. It _had _been a gift from Odin but usually Loki didn't seem to care much about the gifts their father very rarely gave him.

"I was being sincere!" Loki said, putting false hurt into his voice. Thor laughed at him in disbelief.

"You are incapable of sincerity." Thor said, dead serious. He loved his brother, he really did, but Loki was not called the God of Lies for nothing. His younger brother had no qualms with lying to his own family. Thor often wished he was as close to his brother as Helena just so he could tell when Loki was lying.

"Am I?" Loki asked, a little surprised that Thor would think that of him. But _only _a little. Loki would not deny it, he had lied to Thor more times than he could count. Thor had every right to accuse Loki of insincerity and the fact that Thor didn't completely distrust his younger brother was a miracle.

Thor nodded curtly. "Yes." He told Loki.

Loki stared at his brother and felt the slightest bit of annoyance. He wanted to tell Thor everything in that moment, show his brother just how _sincere _he could be, but he knew better. So he decided to say what he had been wanting to say this whole time. Loki smiled slightly at his brother.

"I've looked forward to this day as long as you have." Loki told his brother in a slightly hushed voice. He had too, though he imagined their positions switched. Odin should have picked Loki. Loki should be king. "Brother, my friend." Thor smiled slightly, his eyes shining. "Sometimes I'm envious." Loki looked up at his brother, wondering if his brother knew just how envious he was. Helena knew, she might have told Thor. His brother didn't seem to know though his expression did soften slightly. "But never doubt that I love you." Loki told his brother, trying to keep the begging tone out of his voice. He needed Thor to know that. He needed his brother to understand that just because Loki was doing what he was doing it didn't mean he hated Thor.

Thor smiled warmly at his brother and placed a hand on the side of his brother's neck. Loki smiled up at him, overjoyed that Thor did not accuse him of insincerity then. "Thank you." Thor said, realizing then why Loki had come. His younger brother had been trying to brighten his mood, had put aside whatever jealousy he may have felt to make Thor feel better. Thor would never admit how much that meant to him after so many days of Loki giving him the cold shoulder.

"Now give us a kiss." Loki said jokingly, leaning forward slightly while a smile played at his lips.

Thor chuckled warmly and hit his brother's chest. "Stop it." He said, grinning as he pointed a finger at his younger brother. Loki turned away, laughing, and Thor laughed too. Both brothers felt better now, their feelings healed by this bit of normalcy. Thor still felt a bit nervous though, only a bit, and he stopped laughing quickly, glancing down at his new helmet. "Really how do I look?" Thor asked his brother, saying it with a nonchalant tone but just a bit too quickly.

Loki looked at his brother as if he was examining him. Really, what he was doing was reproaching his brother in his head. It did not matter how Thor looked, it mattered how he acted. Loki decided though not to tell him so. Loki was taking away Thor's chance at king so he might as well give his brother this small thing. "Like a king." Loki told him, his voice a little flater than he had intended. Thor nodded and Loki turned away, letting out a heavy sigh through his nose. It had actually hurt to tell his brother that, to let his brother have any type of kingliness when Loki knew the throne should be his. "It's time." Loki said, looking at nothing.

"You go ahead." Thor told his brother, wanting a bit of time alone before the ceremony. Loki looked at his brother, his face expressionless. Thor looked over at him though and his mind twisted the look his brother gave him into one of a younger brother not wanting to leave his brother alone. "I'll be along, go on." Thor told his brother, nodding slightly in the direction Loki needed to go.

Loki gave his brother one last smile before walking off, leaving Thor to his thoughts. Loki walked over to a dark corner of the room and closed his eyes, searching the building for his sister's unique energy. It was a trick he and her had been perfecting, locking onto other people's energies to locate them and teleport beside them. It was beyond easy for them to do this with each other, they were twins after all, and Thor who they could recognize no matter what. It took Loki two seconds to lock on his sister's energy and then he teleported, landing directly beside her.

"You took your time." Helena said, not looking over at her brother. She had felt him searching for her so she wasn't surprised by his sudden appearance. Sif, who Helena was talking to, wasn't surprised either. She had spent enough time around Thor to get used to Loki's antics.

"My apologizes sister." Loki told her sincerely, earning a small smile from her. Sif narrowed her eyes at Loki ever so slightly, something Thor wouldn't have noticed but the twins did. Sif did not trust Loki, even with Helena his twin. Of course Sif didn't know Helena was almost exactly like Loki so that wasn't surprising. "My business took me a little longer than I expected." Loki said.

"And what business was that Loki?" A smooth cheerful voice asked. Loki, Helena, and Sif turned to see the Warriors Three approaching. The three men had left for just a few minutes to speak to some other warriors but Helena secretly wished they had stayed gone. Only because of Fandral though, she felt no friendship towards him. She forced a smile on her face as he stopped directly in front of her. "Lady Helena, you look absolutely stunning." He told her.

Loki's eyes narrowed dangerously as Fandral placed his hand on his sister's cheek. He could feel Helena's disgust and he exchanged a look with Sif. The warrior woman may not like him but she did like Helena and Fandral being as far away from Helena was the one thing they always agreed on.

"Thank you Fandral though I do not think so." Helena said politely, only admitting the truth. She was not fishing for compliments, she got plenty of those, she just wanted Fandral to know that his flattery would not work on her.

Fandral did not pick up on her subtle hint though. When Fandral flirted he became oblivious to the discomforts of others. "Do not belittle yourself, you're beauty is blinding!" He told her, giving her his "winning smile." Helena forced herself not to roll her eyes, knowing if she showed any type of irritation Loki would do something very stupid to get Fandral away from her. Fandral leaned closer and gave her a suggestive smile. "Listen, sweet Helena, how about after the celebrations you and I go somewhere for our own little soiree?" He told her.

"Fandral!" Loki snapped, shoving the blonde away from his sister. Fandral stumbled back and stared at Loki in shock, he had not trained with Loki in a while and had forgotten how strong the wiry looking man actually was. Loki glowered at the self obsessed man, his eyes blazing with fury. "Do not speak in such a way to my sister. She is a princess of Asgard, a warrior, and the younger sister of your friends. Treat her with respect." He practically growled.

Fandral held his hands up in the "don't kill me" gesture though he glared slightly. "I apologize Loki. I forgot how protective you were of your twin." He said, not sounding apologetic at all. Sif glared at Fandral's poor apology and his own glare disappeared quickly.

Helena turned to her brother while Sif calmly chewed Fandral out. "You should not have done that. He is Thor's friend." She told him reproachfully. Loki gave his sister an angry look, of course he had had to do that! He could not just stand by and let Fandral say such things to his sister. "Besides, I do not need your protection. I can handle Fandral, his advances are pathetic at best." Helena added.

"Do not reproach me for protecting you and it does not matter if he is Thor's friend. Our brother yells at him too when he makes such advances on you." Loki said quickly, furiously. Helena rolled her eyes, finding her brother's anger misplaced and annoying. "And yes I realize you can guard yourself against Fandral but that does not mean I just let him say whatever he wants." He told her.

Helena sighed but smiled at her brother's protectiveness. "Fine brother, do you as like. I shan't stop you." She told him. Loki gave her a skeptical look, knowing she was lying. Helena would always keep him from doing things which was exactly why he hadn't told her his plan. "Now I'm going to chat with Hogun and Volstagg. Is that alright with you brother?" She asked, a bitter note in her tone.

Loki smiled at her, patting her head because he knew it annoyed her. Helena wrinkled her nose at him and took a step back, out of his reach. "As if I could stop you from doing what you wanted sister." He told her, chuckling a little.

"No you could not." Helena agreed with a grin before walking over to Hogun and Volstagg. The warriors greeted her much better than Fandral had. Volstagg enveloped her in a back breaking hug while Hogun nodded politely, smiling slightly. Helena was the only one who could always get a smile out of Hogun without trying. No one could resist her charms and the upbeat attitude she hid behind.

Loki watched his sister carefully while she talked to the two warriors, wondering how his plan would effect her. She was brave of course but how would she react to hearing Frost Giants had managed to get into the palace? He could remember clearly when they were children and Odin had shown all three of them the Casket. When their father had been talking about the Frost Giants she had grabbed his hand in fright. Loki wondered if her fear for the monsters still existed.

Suddenly the throne room doors shut and everyone turned to see that Odin and Frigga had entered. Everyone immediately crossed their right arm over their chest, placing their fists above their hearts, and bowed low to the king and queen. Odin paid them no attention but Frigga smiled at everyone, the picture of the loving caring queen. Helena narrowed her eyes briefly, thinking about how she never wanted to be a queen.

As Odin sat down on his throne a loud trumpet rang out in the throne room. Everyone instantly moved to their respectful places, anticipation growing in the air as they did. Helena stood between Frigga and Loki, watching the doors carefully as she did. Sif stood on Loki's other side, looking mildly annoyed that the "distrustful trickster" and the other warriors, beside Volstagg, across from them stood higher than her. Helena gave her a pleading look, begging her not to say anything. Sif gave her the smallest of nods, promising not to.

The throne room doors open and Thor came in, his new helmet on his head and Mjölnir in his hand. The whole of the throne room erupted in cheers as Thor started walking towards Odin. Helena took Loki's hand when no one was looking, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She knew he must be feeling awful then, riddled with jealousy and anger. Loki smiled slightly at her attempt to make him feel better while he stared at Thor. His smile disappeared though when Thor tossed Mjölnir into the air and caught it, showing off.

"Oh please." Sif said, rolling her eyes but smiling widely. Helena smiled slightly too, glad that her brother's nerves were calmed but upset by his showmanship. He was soon to become king; he needed to be taking this more seriously. Sure he could celebrate but that should come afterwards so that he didn't look like a self absorbed jerk.

Thor raised his arms and cheered as he walked, making the crowd cheer even louder. Loki's grip on Helena's hand tightened and she winced slightly. It didn't hurt it was just that Helena knew he must be fuming if he was holding her hand this tightly. Loki glanced over at the throne room doors, wondering why the Allfather hadn't picked up on the Frost Giants' presence yet. Were those beasts really taking this long? Were they that ignorant?

Thor kneeled down in front of the stairs, placing Mjölnir down beside him. He removed his helmet and placed it down in front of him before looking up, grinning. He shot his mother a playful wink that she smiled at, shaking her head slightly. Helena frowned slightly, disapproving of how completely unserious he was taking this, but she quickly smiled when Thor looked over at her. His smile brightened a little more, he knew she would support him no matter what. Odin rose up and Thor glanced over at his friends, encouraged by their proud yet serious expressions.

Odin banged Gungnir against the ground, silencing the throne room and making Thor's eyes snap back up to his face. "Thor Odinson. My heir." Loki looked at the ground, his jaw locked in anger. Helena squeezed his hand again but didn't dare look at him for fear of drawing attention to her brother's outrage. "My first born." Odin's wavered a little, as if he was so proud he was going to cry. "So long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjölnir, forged in the heart of a dying star. It's power has no equal! It's a weapon to destroy also a tool to build. It is a fit companion for a king."

Loki looked up at his father, looking for any signs that Odin had sensed the Frost Giants as he had. Sif looked over at him and noticed the anger he was trying hard to hide. She was waiting for him to do something, for one of his pranks to suddenly come to light and ruin Thor's coronation. Sif swore that if anything happened and it turned out to be his fault she would beat him within an inch of his life.

As Helena listened to their father talk she sensed something horribly wrong. With so many guards within one spot she felt obligated to sweep the palace with her magic in search of anything wrong. Now she was feeling some new type of energy she had never felt before. Something cold and evil deep within the palace, in the vault. Helena felt three separate balls of this energy which meant there were three unidentified things in the palace. She looked over at her twin in worry, knowing he had to feel it too, but he refused to look at her. Helena's stomach instantly twisted into a thousand knots. Something was definitely wrong.

Helena looked back at Odin when Thor preserve peace, her nerves shot. "Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realm?" Odin asked.

"I swear!" Thor shouted, lifting his hammer into the air. Loki stared at his brother, thinking that his brother should never have sworn to any of that. Thor would break his promises the first time a rival insulted him and send Asgard to war just to "regain his honor." Helena thought it too and she hoped she would be able to keep her brother from doing anything stupid.

"Then on this day I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you—." Odin stopped abruptly, staring off into nothing. Thor looked up at his father in confusion, wondering why he would stop. Loki forced back a smile, realizing his father had sensed the intruders. Helena looked over at Loki when she felt his grip on her hand relax considerably and was shocked to see the pleasure lurking in his eyes. What was going on? What had Loki done? "The Frost Giants." Odin said suddenly and Helena's heart skipped a beat. Odin banged his scepter against the ground, still staring at nothing. A few minutes later he started walking down the steps, shocking everyone. "Sons, daughter, follow." He ordered them.

Loki slipped his hand out of his sister's and followed Odin immediately, Helena following a millisecond behind him. Thor paused for a second, his confusion clouding his head, but eventually he got up and followed them out of the throne room, gripping his hammer tightly.


	4. The Vault

None of them spoke as they made the walked briskly down to the vault. Helena watched Loki carefully though he kept his face turned away from her. As if she required seeing his face to detect his emotions. She was appalled by the amount of happiness Loki was feeling, thinking it was cruel of him to be glad that Thor's coronation had been interrupted. Helena swore to tell him off for it later as she glanced back at Thor. The confusion on his face was obvious but so was the anger. It was not hard to guess what he was thinking. Something along the lines of "I'm going to kill whoever interrupted my coronation!"

When they entered the vault Helena couldn't help but stare in awe at the room she'd only been in once. The Destroyer standing just behind the Casket was a sight to see as well and her mouth hung open in surprise. The Destroyer took a few steps back and the wall it was usually hidden behind reformed, blocking it from view. Odin walked down the stairs the second it was gone and the siblings followed him quickly. Thor stared at the dead soldiers while Loki watched their father carefully. Helena eyes landed on the Casket and she stared at it, quickly realizing what the Frost Giants had been there for.

"The Jotuns must pay for what they've done!" Thor bellowed, looking at the wall in intense anger. Helena took a step closer to Loki who was staring at their father intently, waiting to hear what he'd say.

"They have paid, with their lives." Odin answered, staring down at the Casket. Helena looked at it again and felt herself both drawn to it and hating it. Their father had forbidden all three from touching it which of course meant they all wanted to. The vault was too heavily guarded though so not even Loki and Helena could manage it. It was such a powerful weapon, it could be so useful, and yet it had resulted in the deaths of two innocent guards. Helena's heart broke as she thought about how their families would react hearing about their deaths. "The Destroyer did its work. The Casket is safe and all is well." Odin said calmly.

Thor looked at their father in disbelief. "All is well?" He asked. His tone suggested an outburst and Helena took yet another step closer to Loki, knowing Thor liked to swing Mjölnir when he was angry. "They broke into the weapons vault. If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics—"

"But they didn't." Odin said, cutting him of.

"Well I want to know why!" Thor shouted, sounding like a child. Loki looked over at Thor, surprised that his brother would raise his voice to Odin of all people, then looked back at their father. Helena watched her father with wide eyes, afraid of how he'd react to Thor's anger.

Odin paused, possibly to give Thor time to realize his mistake which he obviously didn't. "I have truce with Laufey, king of the Jotuns." He said.

"He just broke your truce!" Thor shouted. Helena shut her eyes for a moment and let out a barely audible sigh. Even she knew better than to let her temper get out of hand in front of Odin. Of course Thor's nerves were raw from his coronation being interrupted so his thoughts may have been clouded. "They know you are vulnerable." Helena's jaw dropped in disbelief. Did Thor really, _really_, just say that?!

Odin, who had turned around, stared at Thor emotionlessly. "What action would you take?" He asked calmly. Both Loki and Helena realized it was a test the second their father said it and both thought that there was no way Thor was going to pass it. Not with him acting the way he was.

"March into Jotunheim as you once did. Teach them a lesson." Thor said immediately. Helena felt her heart hammer against her chest painfully as her fears seemed to be coming true. Thor was ready to start a war over the pathetic attempts of three Frost Giants to steal from the king of Asgard. Loki stared at his brother, contempt. Thor was proving Loki correct, proving that Thor should not be king. Loki felt proud for stopping Thor's coronation, he had saved the realm from Thor's rash decisions. "Break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again." Thor said.

Odin stared at his son and Loki looked for any signs in his father's eyes that he was regretting his choice. "You're thinking only as a warrior." Odin pointed out, subtly warning Thor to stop.

"This was an act of war!" Thor shouted.

"This was the act of but a few doomed to fail." Odin answered calmly. Helena forced herself not to smile when she realized she'd had the same thoughts as the great Allfather.

"Look how far they got!" Thor shouted, gesturing to the dead Jotuns behind them. He looked outraged and incredibly shocked. He couldn't believe their father was not seeing this for what it was, an attack on Asgard that could have resulted in the deaths of thousands. If they didn't teach the Jotuns a lesson then they would surely attack again!

Odin remained calm, accustomed to Thor's anger like everyone else close to him. "We will find the breach in our defenses and it will be sealed." He said. Helena marveled at her father's calmness while Loki waited for the inevitable burst of anger that would come when Thor said something just a little too stupid.

"As king of Asgard—"

"But you're not king!" Odin shouted. Helena jumped in fright and grabbed Loki's hand instinctively. Loki squeezed her hand comforting as he watched their brother. Thor looked shocked and hurt, as if Odin had just hit him. Also angry which was the worst thing to be towards the Allfather. "Not yet." Odin told his son and Loki felt his temper flare. He was still going to make _Thor _king?! After this outburst?! What would it take for Odin to realize that Thor would making nothing but rash selfish decisions as king?!

Odin left the vault without a word and the siblings were left standing there in silence. Helena released her twin's hand and cautiously walked over to Thor. She looked at him with worry as she placed a hand on his arm.

Thor jerked away from her and raised his hammer slightly, as if he was going to hit her. Helena jumped back, frightened, and he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Her touch had surprised him, that was the only reason he had reacted the way he did. Thor quickly lowered Mjölnir, remembering how skittish she was around his weapon. It could very easily break her bones with the lightest hit and she hated it.

"I am sorry sister." Thor mumbled quickly before leaving the vault.

Loki walked slowly over to his twin and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. Helena instantly leaned into him, taking in his calmness and relaxing slightly. "Everything's going to be fine Lena. I promise." Loki told her soothingly.

Helena sighed and nodded, closing her eyes. "I know but Thor is so hurt, brother. I hate to see him like that. And Odin! He was so angry!" She said sadly. Helena looked up at her brother and he stared down at her, a comforting but sad smile on his face. "You are happy I'm guessing." She said.

"Why would you say that?" Loki asked, looking at her in confusion. Loki briefly wondered if she could possibly know that this was all hit fault.

"Thor's not king yet." Helena said simply. Loki relaxed a little, she didn't know. Good. "And he's sowed doubt into father's head. There's no denying that." She said.

Loki looked at her skeptically. "You really think father is starting to change his mind sister?" He asked doubtfully though he was a little hopeful. Helena knew their father better than anyone besides their mother, she could practically read his mind without actually reading his mind. After all she was the little princess, the favorite child where Thor was only the favorite son.

Helena nodded, smirking a little. "Oh most certainly. After all, Thor was being _very _stupid." She told her twin. Of course Helena would never say anything like that to Thor, it would hurt his feelings, but it was beyond true. Loki laughed, nodding his head in agreement. Helena smiled at her brother but quickly frowned again, thinking that Loki's actions today had been very odd. "I suppose you're lucky, brother." Helena said.

"Lucky? Me?" Loki asked, laughing a bit more in disbelief. He did not think fortune ever smiled on him, except for the moment it gave him such a wonderful twin.

Helena watched her brother carefully. "Father sensed the Frost Giants just before naming Thor king. Just _seconds_ before. It was like someone planned it." She said, sounding thoughtful.

_"Yes but I'd planned it not to be such a close call."_ Loki thought bitterly.

The twins stared at each other for a long time, reading each other's expressions. Loki knew Helena suspected he had done something though it was clear she didn't know what it was. She was obviously suspicious that he had had something to do with the Frost Giants breaking in. Helena could feel his bitterness, his outrage, his jealousy, and his unnecessary amount of happiness and it made her frown. She didn't like these emotions coming from her brother. They made him seem completely foreign to her. The Loki she knew loved her and their brother unconditionally and would never do anything to risk the safety of the realm. Loki saw worry in Helena's eyes and realized she was worrying for him now.

Helena sighed after a few minutes, breaking their eye contact. "Fate has a way of twisting things. Turning plans against their creators." She said, pulling away from her brother. She glanced up at him, her eyes pleading him to stop whatever it was he was doing before things really got out of hand. Loki would have shook her head at him and told her that it was too late, that he couldn't stop now, if he hadn't been lying to her. "I hope whoever's controlling the Jotuns knows this." She told him.

With that, Helena turned on her heel and left. Loki watched her leave, wondering once more if he should inform her of his plans. She would understand, wouldn't she? She would get why he had to do this to Thor, why he couldn't let their brother become king. Helena had told him she didn't think Thor was the right choice after all, though she did add that little "not at the moment" comment. But still, that meant she thought he belonged on the throne right now instead of Thor.

Loki sighed deeply, thinking that it would be best if he didn't tell her. If his plan worked the way he wanted it to then everything would work out for the best and there would be no need to let Helena in on anything. Besides, his plans never backfired on him. Not anymore, not since they were kids. Loki took a deep breath, searched the palace for his brother's energy, and teleported away to work on the next part of his plan.


	5. Let's got to Jotunheim!

Helena found Sif and the Warriors Three still standing in the throne room, talking amongst themselves. They were discussing what had happened and wondering what could be going on. When Helena appeared they instantly swarmed her, asking her questions. She held her hands up to silence them, a headache forming.

"Three Frost Giants managed to break into the weapons vault." Helena told them. They went to ask her more questions but she gave them a sharp furious look that made them swallow their tongues. "We do not know how though we do know why. They were trying to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters; apparently they still think it belongs to them though the Allfather took it ages ago. The Destroyer killed them before they got very far with it." She said.

Sif watched Helena carefully, looking a little nervous. "How is Thor? He seemed shaken as you left." She asked.

Helena gave her a reassuring but sad smile. "Once he cools down he'll be fine." She said, unable to keep the sad note out of her voice. Seeing Thor hurt filled Helena with pain. He was her brother after all, one of the two people who knew the real her and also one of her fiercest protectors. The four warriors gave her confused looks and Helena sighed. "Thor got mad, as to be expected, and acted rashly. Odin got mad too and told my brother he wasn't king, not yet." She explained.

Fandral winced, Volstagg looked shocked, Hogun's grim expression turned even grimmer, and Sif frowned deeply. "His pride is hurt then." Sif said.

"Very much so." Helena said, nodding. There was a loud crash and their heads all turned towards the throne room's door. That noise had come from the celebration hall, they were all certain of that. Helena briefly searched for Thor's energy and, when she found him in the celebration hall, realized the crash must have been his fault. "Thor." She told the others simply before heading towards the crash. They followed her almost immediately, wanting to get to their friend and comfort him as quickly as possible.

When they entered the celebration hall Helena was not surprised to come upon a flipped table. Food was all over the floor, empty goblets and plates were strewn across the room. Servants were standing around in frightened confusion, unsure whether they should clean or wait till the angered prince was no longer sitting on the steps looking terrifying. At least Loki was beside him, directing his attention away from destroying things like a child.

Loki looked over when they entered, giving them a warning look that said not to interrupt. Volstagg immediately started mourning the waste of such a glorious feast. Sif and Fandral rolled their eyes while Hogun remained silent. Helena though ignored Loki's look and walked over. She did not sit beside them though, still a little bit frazzled from almost getting hit with Mjölnir. Instead she leaned against the pillar behind them and watched her twin console their elder brother.

Loki turned back to their brother, feeling a little annoyed now that Helena was here. She could see through him so easily. At least he knew she would not confront them in front of everyone else, afraid of embarrassing him. "If it's any consolation, I think you're right." Loki told his brother. He felt Helena's surprise but he promptly ignored it. "About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, about everything. If they found a way to penetrate Asgard's defenses once who's to say they won't try again, next time with an army."

Helena's eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at her brother. What was he doing? Why was he egging Thor on? Even if he actually meant what he said, which she felt he would if he wasn't acting so strangely, he would not be telling Thor any of this unless he was trying to make something happen.

"Exactly!" Thor boomed.

"There's nothing you can do without defying father." Loki said quickly, as if he wanted to calm his brother. Helena's eyes widened, thinking that was one of the worst things to say to Thor when he was angry at their father.

Thor's anger suddenly disappeared, replaced with a look of realization and excitement. "Yes, there is." He told Loki, sounding determined.

Loki's eyes widened and he pointed at his brother. "No, no, no, no, no. Stop. I know that look." He said as Thor got up. "Stop right there." Loki ordered, sounding dead serious.

"It's the only way to ensure the safety of our borders." Thor said, using that tone that made it seem like there was no argument that could be made.

Helena's eyes widened when she realized what her eldest brother's plan was. She took a step forward, taking her back off the pillar. "Thor it's madness!" She said at the same time as Loki. He glanced back at his sister briefly, a small smile appearing on his lips for the tiniest of seconds.

"Madness?" Volstagg asked, turning away from the plate he had made. Helena looked at him and sighed, cursing his insatiable appetite. "What sort of madness?" He asked.

Loki made a weird noise that Helena would have laughed at if the situation wasn't so serious. "It's nothing. Thor was um merely making a jest." He said, shifting where he sat on the stairs and letting out a nervous chuckle.

"The safety of our realm is no jest." Thor said, his tone somewhere between angry and steely. He turned to his friends, looking serious but with the excitement of impending battle in his eyes. A small smile played at his lips. "We are going to Jotunheim." He told them.

Loki sighed deeply and covered his eyes with his hand, as if he wanted to shield his eyes from Thor's stupidity. In reality he was trying to hide the triumphant light that had entered his eyes. Helena took no notice though, she was too busy groaning and looking to the sky as she prayed something or someone would change her brother's mind.

"This isn't like a journey to Earth where you summon a little lightning and thunder and the mortals worship you as a god." Fandral said, walking towards Thor. For once he was the embodiment of clear thinking. "This is Jotunheim!" He said, saying the name as if it was a curse not meant to be spoken loudly.

"If the Frost Giants don't kill you," Volstagg said as he sliced a loaf of bread, "your father will." He finished, looking up at his friend. Helena nodded agreeingly; thinking that at the very least Thor would be beaten within an inch of his life.

Irritation flashed across Thor's face for just a second, something that would have been barely noticeable if they weren't all extremely focused on him. "My father fought his way into Jotunheim, defeated their armies and took their Casket. We will just be looking for answers." Thor answered, making it sound like going and asking questions was going to be the easiest thing in the world.

"It is forbidden!" Sif said severely. She was brave but she was not stupid. Going to Jotunheim would be a mistake.

Loki and Helena looked at their brother, knowing that would not affect him. If anything, it would encourage him. His laughter confirmed this. "My friends have you forgotten all that we have done together?" He asked. Helena realized what he was doing, acting as if none of this was forbidden and they were only being skittish. "Fandral, who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all of Yggdrasil?" Thor asked his friend, walking over to them. He clapped a hand on Fandral's shoulder and the warrior smile.

"Well you helped a little." Fandral said before putting on a wistfully look. Helena scoffed in disgust, thinking that Fandral was the biggest pig she had ever met. Loki sent her an amused smirk for that, agreeing.

Thor chuckled and turned to Hogun. "Who led you into the most glorious of battles?" He asked his grim friend.

Hogun actually smiled a little at that. "You did." He told Thor before looking at the ground, remembering a few of his favorite battles when fighting had actually proven a challenge.

Thor smiled and walked over to Volstagg who was just finishing up his sandwich. "And Volstagg," Thor said which made the wider man turn, "to delicacies so succulent you thought you'd died and gone to Valhalla?" He asked.

Volstagg chuckled a little, thinking joyously of the great feasts, before looking at Thor seriously. "You did." He said. Helena cursed Volstagg's appetite once more, wondering briefly how a man could be so obsessed with food.

"Yes!" Thor said, laughing as he hit Volstagg's chest. Thor spun around to face Sif. "And who proved wrong," He said as he walked over to her, "all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?" Thor asked the lady warrior.

"I did." Sif said proudly. She gave Thor a look that told him there was no way he could think of something he'd led her to that Thor hadn't already said. Besides the women and, besides, Sif seemed to only have eyes for Thor so he had never led her into the arms of exotic men.

Thor paused for a second, knowing she was right, then smiled. "True but I supported you Sif." He told her, jabbing a finger at her as if to punctuate his sentence. Sif smiled at him and the twins rolled their eyes, wondering how she could be so infatuated with their brother when he was like this. Thor took a step back to face all of his friends. "My friends, trust me now. We _must_ _do this_." He said, walking back over to his siblings. Loki stared at the ground while Helena looked at the darkening sky, each musing over how easy it would be to knock Thor out to get him to stop talking. "You're not going to let my siblings and me take all the glory are you?" Thor asked, gesturing to the twins.

"What?" The twins breathed out at the same time, not turning to their brother. Neither expected to be brought along on this little adventure. Helena had actually been planning on insisting she come along if her brother actually went, thinking Thor would tell her "no" simply because in real battle he always worried for her safety. Loki had just assumed he would not be going along after he showed Thor how against the idea he was. He didn't really want to go either, afraid that his plan wouldn't work in case he did. Odin could get mad at both of them instead of just Thor if Loki went.

Thor's smile slipped as he stared at his siblings, hurt and some degree of panic appearing on his face. "Well you are coming with me aren't you?" He asked them worriedly. Did they really think he would leave them behind while he went to Jotunheim? They were siblings, they shared a bond closer than friendship, of course he wanted them to come!

His siblings turned to look at him simultaneously, each of them smiling. Thor smiled back, amused by their strange connection that allowed them to move and talk at the same time without thought. "Yes of course." Loki said, directing Thor's attention to him. He stood up and Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinning wildly. "I won't let our brother march into Jotunheim alone." He said, looking over at the warriors.

"Well I can't let you have all the fun." Helena said, sighing as she ducked beneath Thor's arm. He wrapped it around her shoulders and she leaned against him lovingly. Thor looked down at his little sister with adoration and she felt herself smile despite herself. "I will stand with you brother. Through thick and thin." She told him sincerely. Loki felt a tad bit annoyed at that though she had sworn the same thing to him before. Helena's not choosing between them annoyed Loki to no end. As her twin he thought he deserved to be chosen above Thor.

The three siblings looked at the four warriors, waiting for them to respond. "And I." Volstagg said, always the first to aid a friend. The other three in the room gave him looks that he simply shrugged at, silently telling them his resolve was not to be decision.

Fandral sighed and turned to the siblings who were giving Volstagg thankful looks. "And I." He said, sounding a tad bit solemn. He smiled slightly when he saw the delight appear on Thor's face. Loki and Helena smiled but their smiles were forced, they really did not like Fandral.

Hogun stared at the three of them, his grim expression once more on his face. "And I. The Warriors Three fight together." He said loudly. He sounded determined and Helena could not help but be impressed by his bravery and loyalty. She would have told her comrades to fight on their own but, then again, she had never been apart of a warriors group and knew nothing of their bonds.

"I fear we'll live to regret this." Sif said, agreeing in that sentence to come along. She placed her fist over her heart and bowed almost mockingly to the royal siblings before turning and walking away. Fandral and Hogun followed her, passing by Volstagg as they did. Fandral scoffed in annoyance as Volstagg held the humongous sandwich he had made.

"If we're lucky." Volstagg said, following after them with his sandwich in hand.

Thor laughed loudly as he released his siblings. "Come! Let's get ready for our journey!" He told them before practically running down the steps. His excitement was contagious and Helena couldn't help grinning wildly at the prospect of going on yet another adventure with her brothers. Just like old times.

"What a journey it shall be brother!" Helena said excitedly, following behind Thor. Loki walked a few steps behind her, thinking. When he'd pictured this part of the plan he had never been in it and Helena certainly wasn't. Loki should have guessed though, should have known Thor would at least take her since she was his favorite sparring partner. Helena's words from earlier about Fate twisting plans echoed in his ears as they walked, taunting him almost. "We have never been to this place. It'll be a whole new experience." Helena said as they walked, careful not to use the name of the realm as they passed by a group of servants.

Thor nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, it will be Lena. Though I doubt you'll find it much fun seeing as those we meet will be nothing more than pathetic creatures." He told her.

Helena suddenly paled, thinking Thor should not underestimate the Frost Giants as she remembered all the stories she had ever heard about them. "Thor, they may have strength yet. Tread carefully while we're there." She told him. Loki couldn't help but nod his agreement. All he needed for his plan to work was for them to go to Jotunheim and almost start a war with a bit of Thor's rash speaking. He did not need and did not want Thor actually starting a war with them right there in the heart of it.

"Oh do not worry my siblings. Everything will be fine!" Thor assured them. They stopped in the center of the hallway between all the doors leading to their bedrooms. Thor turned to them and leaned towards them a bit so they could hear him whisper. "Wear armor. It is much more intimidating." He told them.

The twins nodded and Thor quickly went into his room. Helena took a step to go into her own room but Loki stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "You will stay by my side the whole time. Understand?" He told her, his tone suggesting she shouldn't argue.

Helena glared up at her brother and her eyes changed color as it flooded with her magic. Loki immediately let her go and took a step back, shocked. Helena's eyes usually just sparked with her magic when she was angry, the magic never replaced the color. Not unless her emotions were completely unstable when she got mad. "I do not need protection brother." Helena's pride said furiously. Her fear screamed at her though to tell him there was no way she was going to take even a step away from his side while they were on Jotunheim.

Loki stared at his twin as he tried to remember the way to calm her down in these situations. With her emotions out of whack like this he could get seriously injured if she let out even a smidge of her magic. He couldn't think of a way to calm her down though that wouldn't take more than two seconds. Helena sensed how desperate he was to calm her down and she sighed, releasing some of her held in torrent of emotions.

"Sorry brother. I'm just worried for Thor and, though I'll never admit it to anyone but you, I'm scared." Helena told him. Loki smiled at his twin and opened his arms. Helena instantly ran into them and hugged him tightly. "They're _Frost Giants_, Loki. Monsters. Beasts. And Thor's underestimating them!" She said quickly, quietly.

"I won't let them hurt you Lena, I promise." Loki whispered to her. Helena nodded and then broke away from him. He smiled at her as her eyes returned to their blueish green that matched his perfectly. "Besides, I think together we can keep Thor from doing anything stupid." He told her.

Helena laughed and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure we can." She said before disappearing into her room.

Loki and Helena were dressed before Thor, being able to switch their clothes with just a snap of their fingers. Helena grinned wildly, glad to be in armor instead of that stupid dress. It was good armor too, the best money could buy. It looked exactly like Sif's but it was much stronger than hers, enforced with layers upon layers of magic. Not even Thor's hammer could bust through her armor. She kept her dagger strapped to her thigh, her backup weapon that Loki absolutely insisted she have. Helena did her hair up in a braid, her favorite way to wear it, as they waited for Thor to come out of his room.

"Cloak, sister, and gloves." Thor instructed when he came out of his room and saw her.

Helena rolled her eyes at him. "I'll get the gloves but the cloak is pointless." She told him. With a snap of her fingers her gloves appeared on her hands, thick leather ones that blocked out the cold.

Thor gave his sister an annoyed look. "Sister, you'll freeze. From what father says Jotunheim is nothing but snow and ice." He told her. Thor may have been dragging her into a potentially life threatening situation but he'd be damned if she got frostbite while there.

"Loki isn't wearing a cloak either." Helena pointed out angrily. Loki gave their brother a warning look, telling him their sister was on edge and he needed to get off her back. "I can stand cold just as well as he can so if he doesn't need one I don't either." Helena said, ending the argument.

Thor let out a sigh, calming himself down so that he didn't yell at his sister for being stupid. "Fine but if you complain about the cold I am beating you." He told her, jabbing a finger at her. He would have pointed Mjölnir at her like he did with everyone else, that would have gotten the point across much better, but she was so afraid of the hammer. It was stupid but Thor loved his little sister enough not to scare her. Helena smiled and with that the siblings started walking.

They met up with Sif and the Warriors Three at the entrance of the palace. They'd arranged for their weapons and the horses to be brought out to a courtyard so they made their way there. Helena was the first to the bench where their weapons were and she picked up her twin swords gleefully. She hit the blades together, sending up sparks, before tucking them into their sheaths at her waist. Loki smiled at her, picking up his throwing knives.

"First we must find a way to get past Heimdall." Thor said, looking into the distance while everyone else put on their weapons. He never let Mjölnir leave his side so he never had to take his time to gather his weapon.

"That will be no easy task." Volstagg said immediately. Thor looked over at him and he began thinking of a way to get past the all seeing sentry of the Bifrost. His thoughts were interrupted though when Volstagg kept speaking. "It's said that the Gatekeeper can see a single drop of dew fall from a blade of grass a thousand worlds away." Volstagg said as everyone laughed at him.

Fandral rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yes and he can hear a cricket passing gas in Niffleheim." He said as Thor and Volstagg walked behind him.

"Jest not! He heareth all!" Volstagg said immediately, sounding a tad frightened. Helena shook her head and laughed when she saw that even Hogun was smiling slightly at Volstagg.

Fandral shook his head as he followed after Volstagg and Thor. Sif followed behind them, smiling as she checked to make sure her sword could easily slide out of its sheath in her shield. "Please!" Fandral said, laughing. "Getting past him should be simple enough now since he seems to be letting Frost Giants sneak by under his nose!" He said jokingly, walking over to where Thor was now thanking the servants for bringing their horses.

Helena shook her head and went to follow the others when she saw Loki walking over to a nearby guard. Hogun noticed it too and he looked over at Helena, silently asking him if she knew what her brother was up to. She shook her head ever so slightly and flicked her hand slightly, telling him to go ahead. He nodded and quickly followed the others while Helena stood there, waiting for her brother. Loki finished talking to the guard and turned away from him, stopping suddenly when he saw Helena staring at him with suspicion and caution in her eyes.

Loki glanced over at the others before walking to his sister and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Sister do not look at me like that." He begged her. He hated seeing her direct that look at him of all people. Loki wanted his sister to trust him even without knowing the motives behind his actions but he realized that was never going to happen. He questioned her actions too much for her not to question his, especially when she could feel how different he'd been acting today.

"What are you up to Loki? What did you tell that guard?" Helena asked him, staring up at him with a look that begged him not to lie to her.

Loki sighed loudly and looked up, as if begging the sky to send someone to help him. This was one thing he really didn't have to lie to her about but he wasn't certain he should tell her. When he looked down at her again though any thought of lying vanished. She was giving him that accursed puppy dog look no one could resist, not even him. Loki sighed and released her shoulder, cursing her for using that look. "I told him to tell father our plans as soon as we leave." He told her.

Helena stared at her brother in shock. She couldn't believe it, Loki had tattled on them. _Loki! _The one who once blew up a whole wall in a fit after someone told Odin about one of his pranks had gone and _tattled_. "Why would you do that?" She asked him, furious. Thor had never told on Loki, ever, and here Loki was telling on Thor.

"I had to." Loki told her. Helena stared at him skeptically, obviously not believing him. "You know we should not be going to Jotunheim. It's forbidden, it's dangerous, and there's a million chances it'll go wrong." He said. Helena couldn't help but agree and think that with Thor's pride damaged something would most definitely go wrong. "I'm just making sure nothing happens. I do not want you or me or any of the others dying because of Thor's pride." Loki told her.

Helena sighed and looked over at the others who were readying their horses. She snapped her fingers and the remaining horses, hers and Loki's, were ready to go. "I understand brother and I agree we should not be going. I won't tell Thor." She said, not looking at her twin. Loki gave her a thankful smile that she felt but didn't acknowledge before walking over to his horse. Helena followed him, her stomach twisting into knots.

Everyone climbed up onto their horses, Hogun watching Loki carefully the whole time. Helena distracted him with a question about his horse which Loki silently thanked her for. Thor was the last to climb up onto his horse, as always, and the twins turned their heads simultaneously to face him. Thor grinned at them and they grinned back, though both of their smiles were forced. Their elder brother didn't seem to notice though, he thought they were just sharing in their excitement, and took off towards the Gate. The others followed him immediately, each silent as the grave.

Loki was furious by the time they rode beneath the Gate. The guard should have gone to Odin by now. Their father should be hear by now, shouting at Thor at the top of his lungs for almost starting a war. Loki could feel Helena's eyes on his back, asking him why their father hadn't come yet. He couldn't answer her of course and he felt horrible as he sensed her getting more and more fearful as they rode down the Rainbow Bridge.

Thor made them stop not far from Heimdall's Observatory when he saw the Gatekeeper standing there, waiting for them. They walked towards him and as they did Loki sped up so he was beside Thor. "Leave this to me." He told his brother, smiling. Thor looked at him with complete trust, thinking that if anyone could convince Heimdall to let them pass it would be Loki. The God of Mischief smiled before approaching the Gatekeeper. "Good Heimdall." Loki began.

"You're not dressed warmly enough." Heimdall said, not even looking over at Loki. Helena stared at him in awe, as she did every time she saw the Gatekeeper. There was just so much power rolling off of him and his eyes terrified her. His voice terrified her too, it was so emotionless and yet just as powerful as Odin's.

"I'm sorry?" Loki said, confused and a little unnerved. Thor stared at Heimdall in confusion as well, not understanding that the Gatekeeper really did see everything.

"You think you can deceive me?" Heimdall asked. Volstagg looked over at Fandral when he heard that, giving him a smug smile. Helena stifled a laugh when she saw Fandral's cheeks turn a bright red.

Loki let out a laugh, as if everything was fine. Helena sensed him going into damage control action and she smiled a little, wondering how her brother didn't notice how pointless it was. "You must be mistaken." Loki said while Heimdall remained emotionless. "We're not—"

"Enough!" Thor boomed, cutting Loki off when he realized trickery wasn't the way to go with Heimdall. The Gatekeeper would appreciate honesty instead, especially since he could see through the lies they could tell him. Loki looked at the ground, a little angry but definitely embarrassed. He was not used to his charms not working. Thor walked past him, approaching Heimdall. "Heimdall may we pass?" He asked.

Heimdall turned to face Thor. "Never has an enemy slipped my watch until this day." He said, his voice low. His eyes flickered over to Loki so fast it might not even have happened. Loki noticed it too and so did Helena. She felt her twin's uneasiness grow and her suspicions rose. What could have caused Heimdall to glance at her brother like that? Helena prayed her twin had nothing to do with any of this. "I wish to know how that happened." Heimdall told Thor.

Loki stared at Heimdall, trying to hide his anger. Helena knew that after this incident Loki probably officially hated the Gatekeeper. "Then tell no one where we've gone until we've returned." Thor said. Loki looked over at his brother, thinking that it was already too late to request that. Helena looked at her twin, expertly keeping the knowing look she wanted to give him off her face. "Understand?" Thor asked the Gatekeeper. Heimdall said nothing so Thor walked past, entering the observatory.

The others besides Helena followed Thor, walking around Heimdall without acknowledging him. When Fandral passed besides Loki he decided to tease him. "What happened? Silver tongue turn to lead?" He asked mockingly. **(changed it to Fandral cause I dislike him, a lot.)**

Helena watched her brother as Fandral said that and saw that he was genuinely hurt by that. His magic and his charms were the only things besides Helena that were always there for him and to have them fail him this once hurt deeply. To have them fail him in front of someone he hated and then have his charms insulted hurt even more. Helena took Loki's hand and led him inside the observatory, a plan to punish Fandral for insulting her brother already in her head.

"Fandral!" Helena called out flirtatiously once they were in the observatory. Fandral stopped and turned to her with a surprised but "charming" smile. Helena released her twin's hand and ran over to the man with a smile, feeling her brothers' eyes on her as she did. She stopped in front of Fandral and moved a piece of his blonde hair back into place. "Fandral." She said again.

"Yes sweet Helena?" Fandral asked, smiling in a way that made Helena want to puke.

Helena smiled back for a second before slamming the bottom of her palm into Fandral's forehead. Fandral fell back, clutching his head in pain. "Do not insult my brother again, pretty boy." Helena told him furiously, sparks of magic shooting off of her. The others laughed while Fandral looked up at her in surprise, still clutching his forehead. She smiled sweetly at him before joining everyone else at the front of the observatory, right in front of the opening where the Bifrost would open.

Loki wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder and squeezed her affectionately. "My baby sister, so protective." He said teasingly. He grinned at her wildly, loving how quick his sister was to defend him. Even Thor, had he heard what Fandral said, would have laughed at the fact that his brother's charms had not worked before telling Fandral off. Helena though loved magic just as much as he did and knew his pain.

Helena rolled her eyes and shoved him away playfully. "Only because I need someone to blame for all my tricks." She told him jokingly. Loki laughed, shaking his head.

Lightning suddenly appeared around them and Helena jumped in surprise, hating how the Gatekeeper never gave anyone warning before he began opening the Bifrost. Helena listened carefully to the sounds of the observatory moving and when the Bifrost opened she smiled at its beauty. No one ever seemed to appreciate just how amazing the Bifrost was and that angered Helena. It was amazing, practically a miracle.

"Be warned." Heimdall said, his voice just barely audible over the noise of the Bifrost. "I will honor my sworn oath to protect this realm as its Gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard the Bifrost will remain closed and you'll be left to die in the cold waste of Jotunheim." Heimdall told them.

"Couldn't you just leave the Bridge open for us?" Volstagg asked, always the one to show a little bit of fear. Everyone else was scared too of course, everyone else but Thor, but they didn't want to voice their fears. Still, none of them wanted to die today and they especially did not want to die on that cold terrifying planet.

"To leave the Bridge open would unleash the full power of the Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it." Heimdall said.

Loki perked up a little, intrigued by this information, but any question he might have asked was cut off by Thor's laughter. "I have no plans to die today." Thor said. He stared into the Bifrost, a smile on his face and his eyes twinkling with amusement. In his mind there was no way this could go wrong, no way he could end up dead. Helena eyed her brother angrily and wondered if he'd ever realize that he wasn't invincible.

"None do." Heimdall said seriously. Helena felt a chill go down her spine and she clenched her hands into tight fists, trying to banish the terrified thoughts that threatened to make themselves known. She didn't get much of a chance to though before Heimdall opened the Bifrost fully. She was pulled into the Bifrost almost instantly, a sensation she didn't really like. Helena closed her eyes as she was hurtled towards Jotunheim, praying that they'd make it out of there alive.


	6. Laufey

Jotunheim. The second they were there Helena regretted ever agreeing to come along. It was cold, so much colder than she had thought it would be, and dark, like the whole place had been plunged into a never ending night. Helena remembered nightmares she would have when someone would describe Jotunheim during a scary story and she realized her nightmares had never even came close to how truly terrifying the place was. Helena hardened her heart though and hid her fear, not wanting to appear weak in front of the others.

"We shouldn't be here." Hogun said, looking at the ground.

Helena nodded, quickly, allowing some of her fear to show since Hogun had said what she was thinking. "I agree." She said quickly. She walked over to Thor and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her and she noticed his determination had slipped a little. "Brother please, let's go back. If anything happens we cannot take on the whole of Jotunheim on our own. Besides, Heimdall was right. We did not dress warmly enough. We will die before we even find Laufey." Helena told her brother. Thor just stared at her, as if her arguments meant nothing. "Brother, please, let's go home while we still can." She begged him.

Thor frowned deeply. "We have come too far to turn back now sister." He told her.

"And whose fault is that?!" Helena snapped at him. She zapped her brother's shoulder on purpose, sending it traveling through his armor so he actually felt it. Thor jumped slightly in surprise and gritted his teeth at the pain. He glared down at her, trying not to yell at her when she was so clearly afraid, and she glared back. Finally Loki stepped forward and gently pulled Helena away from Thor, sensing that if they stayed that close to each other any longer they would get into a fist fight.

Thor turned away from his siblings and looked straight ahead at the place he knew had to be Laufey's palace. "Let's move." He said, walking forward. The others followed him, looking around for Frost Giants as they did. Loki placed himself directly beside Helena as they walked; wanting to be there for her if she got frightened. She was too angry to be frightened anymore though, she didn't even flinch when a large part of Laufey's palace came crashing down.

"It must have been formidable when father came." Helena said when she finally took notice of the surrounding area. Everything was in ruins of course but there was so much debris that it wasn't hard to picture there once being a huge palace around them. "You know, before he destroyed it." She said.

Thor glanced back at his sister and gave her a look that told her he thought she was crazy. "They deserved it." He told her.

Helena rolled her eyes. "I know they did Thor, I'm just saying." She told him angrily. She looked around again and frowned. "I wish we could have seen it though. Maybe then you wouldn't underestimate them like a fool." She said, sounding horribly casual as she insulted her brother.

"Where are they?" Sif asked, distracting Thor so he wouldn't start fighting with his sister.

"Hiding." Thor said instantly, looking around. Loki watched his brother, waiting expectantly for him to say more. "As cowards always do." Thor said. Loki and Helena exchanged exasperated looks. Loki silently asked his sister how their brother could be so idiotic and insult the Frost Giants in their own domain. Helena shrugged her shoulders slightly and glanced worriedly at Thor, answering that she had no clue and she thought Thor might be insane.

Finally they came upon an area that looked roughly like a throne room. That theory was confirmed when Helena spotted Laufey sitting high above them in something that looked like a chair carved from frozen stone. "You've come a long way to die Asgardians." Laufey said, his voice deep and terrifying. It echoed around the destroyed throne room, as if it was making sure they would hear it.

Thor stepped towards Laufey, looking up at him unimpressed. "I am Thor Odinson." He told the Frost Giant king.

"We know who you are." Laufey answered, his voice suggesting nothing. It was like he didn't care who Thor was which of course made the prince furious.

"How did your people get into Asgard?!" Thor shouted, glaring up at Laufey. He seemed to have forgotten that they were in the presence of a king in his own domain. But of course Thor would never see Laufey as a king in the first place, he saw the Frost Giant before as nothing but a monster.

Helena looked up at Laufey and had to stop herself from shuddering when he turned his head slowly to look at them. His eyes were blood red with small circles of black at the center, incredibly small for pupils. She took a step towards Loki who immediately drew just a bit nearer to her, knowing it would comfort her. They stared up at Laufey who stared down at the group as if they were nothing.

"The house of Odin is full of traitors." Laufey told them emotionlessly.

Helena's anger flared immediately and her magic sparked around her. Loki took her hand, soothing her a little. Thor was just as furious though and he stepped forward, his eyes blazing with rage. "Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies!" Thor shouted, lifting his hammer up threateningly.

Anger appeared on Laufey's face and he shot to his feet, moving quicker than they thought he could. "Your father is a murderer and a thief." Laufey snapped at him. Helena tightened her grip on Loki's hand as her fear started setting back in. "And why have you come here? To make peace?" The Frost Giant king asked mockingly. He glared at Thor, standing tall. "You long for battle. You crave it. You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man." Laufey said, shaking his head in disapproval.

The sound of moving feet reached Helena's ears and she spun around, still gripping Loki's hand as she did. She looked in horror at the Frost Giants that had surrounded them, each one glaring at them ferociously. Her grip on Loki's hand became so tight that he let out a pained grunt. She looked at him apologetically but didn't loosen her grip. The Frost Giants. They were so much more than the stories had made them to be. They were taller than how people described them and they looked so much stronger than the stories said. Getting hit by them…Helena shook her head. Getting hit by them couldn't possibly be worse than getting hit by Thor and she could beat him when he wasn't in one of his moods.

"This boy has grown tired of your mockery." Thor said furiously, his voice horribly calm. In his anger he seemed not to notice the Frost Giants around them and that frightened Helena more than anything.

One of the Frost Giants growled and ice grew over his hands and downwards, forming into sharp deadly points. Like swords attached to their arms. The other Frost Giants copied him, some letting the ice form on both hands while others only let it form on one. Helena took in a breath that shook as she gazed around in fear. Her eyes darted over to Thor and she swore, if they died, she would track him down in the afterlife and murder him again.

Loki pulled out of Helena's grip and practically ran over to their brother, "Thor, stop and think." Loki told his brother, looking up at Laufey with caution while Thor glared at the Frost Giant king. "Look around, we are surrounded and outnumbered. Our friends are here. Our_ sister_ is here. Do you want them to die simply because you can't let a simple insult fly by?" He asked his brother furiously. He glared at Thor for the first time in what had to be ages, thinking only for the safety of his twin. He didn't care about his plan at that moment, though it was going almost perfectly. He cared only about getting his twin home, safe.

Thor didn't answer, he just kept glaring up at Laufey. Helena knew that no matter how much Loki yelled at him it wouldn't be enough. Thor would respond though to seeing fear, it was the one thing that could catch his attention since he very rarely saw it. So Helena ran over and grabbed Thor's arm, pinching it so that he'd look at her. When he did she forced her held back fear onto her face and stared up at him pleadingly. "Brother please, let's go home while we still can." Helena begged him, clinging to his arm as if she was afraid to let go. Loki looked over at her, knowing that her fear was mostly just an act but still hating seeing her like this. "Before you do something you can't take back." Helena added. Thor didn't react much, just frowned a little more. He was being stubborn, not wanting to admit this had been a bad idea and give up.

"Listen to your siblings boy." Laufey said, obviously furious by Thor's stubbornness. "You know not what your actions would unleash." He said. He looked towards the ground and it was clear he was remembering the war between his realm and theirs. The bloodshed, the lives lost, the ruin that followed. It seemed to haunt him almost. "I do." He seemed to almost whisper. Laufey looked up at them, his eyes fixed on Thor who still looked furious. "Go now. While I still allow it."

At his words, a particularly large Frost Giant came walking out of the shadows. He stood in front of the children of Odin, silently telling them that if they didn't agree he was going to kill them. Thor glared up at the Frost Giant while his siblings looked up in cautious fear. Helena looked over at Loki, begging him to do something, as she released Thor's arm and took a step back. Loki nodded and looked up at Laufey.

"We will accept your most gracious offer." Loki said. Thor looked over at his brother but Loki looked back at him with an iron resolve. There was no way Loki was going to let him get them all killed. Thor turned back to the Frost Giant in fury, obviously wanting to do something. The Frost Giant growled slightly, warning Thor not to. Loki turned around and started walking back. "Come on brother." He said. His tone suggested he was leaving and that was the end of it, no arguments. Loki nodded towards Helena and she turned to, eager to get back home.

Laufey gave Thor a look, willing him to listen to his brother and leave. Thor took a half step forward but then leaned back, torn between going and leaving. But he could hear his siblings slowly walking away, abandoning him, and he knew he couldn't do this without them. Thor let out a furious grunt and turned to follow his siblings.

"Run back home little princesses." The Frost Giant standing before Thor said, making Thor stop.

Loki and Helena stopped too, both paling as the final blow to Thor's pride was dealt. Helena facepalmed as Loki let out a disappointed "Dam." Their friends immediately tightened their grips on their weapons, knowing what was about to happen. An enraged smile appeared on Thor's face and he let Mjölnir's handle slip down his hand till he was gripping the bottom, the place he always held it when he was about to swing. Letting out an enraged growl, Thor spun around and slammed Mjölnir into the Frost Giant's chin. The monster immediately flew back, slamming into the rock far behind him.

"Next." Thor said challengingly, grinning.

**Ready for the fight with the Frost Giants? Of course you are, everyone loved that scene. First time we get to see Thor in battle so it's awesome. Though Loki's pretty awesome too during the fight. His weapon suits him, you know? Throwing knives. Slim, not your first choice for a weapon so overlooked, not overly suspicious, precise, deadly. Loki in weapon form.**


	7. Frost Giant Fight

Thor hit another Frost Giant before anyone could react, sending that it flying farther than the one before. The Frost Giants attacked then, most of them heading straight for Thor. Helena pulled her swords out of their sheaths immediately, the sheaths dissolving into blue mist as she did. Loki pulled out his knives and they placed themselves back to back, their usual fighting style. Helena roared as she slashed at Frost Giants, spraying the ground with their blood. Loki threw his knives at the Frost Giants around them, destroying the ice weapons on their hands so they weren't as dangerous. Thor and Helena took out the ones he hit, slicing and smashing as they did.

The other warriors were doing well, defeating any Frost Giant that came near them. Hogun with his mace, Sif with her double bladed staff, Fandral with his one sword, and Volstagg with his axe. The group were doing serious damage to the Frost Giants, matching the royal siblings kill for kill. This seemed to please Thor's adrenaline spiked head because he turned to Laufey with a smile.

"At least make it a challenge for me!" Thor shouted up at the Frost Giant king.

"Thor!" Helena shouted furiously but she didn't get the chance to really shout at him. A Frost Giant lunged at her and she fell back a bit, running into Loki. He immediately spun around and threw a knife straight into the Frost Giant's face as Helena stabbed the monster through the stomach.

Frost Giants suddenly landed all around them, leaping off of a cliff high above them. One slammed his fist into the ground as he fell, sending ice across the ground. A column of ice shot up and slammed into Loki's chin, sending him flying. He accidentally ran into Helena as he did and the twins went crashing to the ground. They scrambled back up but this time without their weapons which laid ten feet from them, right in the midst of the battle. Helena went running towards them before her brother could protest, hell bent on not fighting without her swords.

The Frost Giant that sent them flying rose to his feet and roared loudly. He was massive even for a Frost Giant, a Brute. Thor roared back in exhilarated anger, telling the Brute in a noise to come fight him. It immediately complied, rushing at Thor who immediately swing Mjölnir at him. The Brute caught it though before Thor could hit him and headbutted the golden haired warrior. Thor looked surprised for a split second before laughing. The Brute didn't appreciate that, punching Thor in the face in retaliation. Thor went flying back, landing on his back. He immediately rolled backwards onto his knees and he smiled as he got to his feet.

"That's more like it." Thor said, sounding ecstatic that he'd found a challenge. Thor threw Mjölnir and it slammed into the Brute's face who immediately dropped. Thor held up his hand and the hammer came flying back into his grip.

Meanwhile the others weren't doing as great. Sif got knocked down and would have been murdered if Hogun hadn't seen it and thrown his knife when he did. Volstagg had about three of the bigger Frost Giants going at him all at once. Fandral was average sized and with only one weapon and that made him an easy target. Loki and Helena were easy targets to. Helena had been thrown back, away from her swords, and was fighting with magic alone, releasing her anger so that any Frost Giant who came near would instantly get zapped about a million times before they could lay a finger on her. Loki was desperately trying to get to Helena, not wanting her to fight alone, but he had to fight his way to her. As he did though he was pushed farther from her and he started sending out copies of himself to distract the Frost Giants while he made his way over to her.

Helena channeled energy into her palms and started blasting at Frost Giants with pure energy. They flew back, slamming into walls and other Frost Giants. Helena laughed as she slowly managed to get closer and closer to her swords.

"Don't let them touch you!" Volstagg shouted suddenly. Loki looked over to see the flesh on Volstagg's arm had turned completely black, frostbitten by the Jotun's touch.

Helena looked over too which gave a Jotun the perfect opportunity to slam their elbow into her back. She flew forward and skidded along the ground painfully. Helena growled as she started to get up but as she placed her palms on the ground to push herself up ice came shooting up beneath her hands. She screamed in pain as small stalagmites of ice shot up through her hands, shredding her gloves to pieces and puncturing about five huge holes into each palm. She looked back and saw the Frost Giant who had knocked her down touching the ground, grinning at her sickeningly. Helena growled at it for hurting her and quickly pulled her hands up off the ice, gasping a little in pain as the ice slid out. The Frost Giant straightened up, its eyes locked on her, and took a step towards her.

Loki saw the Frost Giant going towards his injured sister and he immediately rushed towards them, ignoring any Frost Giant that came at him. He swept up a knife laying discarded on the ground and let out a loud shout to catch the Jotun's attention as he ran towards it. The shout had the desired effect, the Frost Giant turned around just steps from Helena. Loki stabbed the Frost Giant through the gut and it dropped to its knees immediately, grabbing Loki's arm as he did. Loki's arm armor started falling away and Helena knew what the Frost Giant planned to do. He planned to hold onto Loki as he died, killing the trickster in the process. Helena screamed and launched herself at the Frost Giant, grabbing his shoulder with her exposed hands and pulling, making it face her. Loki screamed at her to let go but then he stopped, looking down at his arm and then at her arms in shock. Helena followed his gaze and her jaw dropped.

Their skin. It was turning blue, Frost Giant blue. Their flesh wasn't burning with frostbite either. Helena looked up at her brother in horror, silently asking him what was going on. The Frost Giant looked at Loki too, confusion on its face. Loki took his chance and stabbed the Jotun in the heart, making him release his arm in surprise. Helena shoved the dead monster away before looking at Loki. She watched as the blue disappeared from his arm while Loki watched it disappear from both of hers. They exchanged looks, swearing to talk about it later while they were alone, before taking off to rejoin the fight. Helena managed to grab her swords, which made her scream in pain as blood gushed from her now clenched hands. She gritted her teeth and threw herself at a Frost Giant, slicing open its stomach.

Loki heard a cry of pain and he turned to see Fandral impaled on ice. He immediately sent a knife speeding towards the Frost Giant, stabbing it in the face and killing it instantly. Sif screamed for Thor while Hogun and Volstagg ran over to Fandral. Helena followed them, fighting off Frost Giants that tried to attack them.

Loki watched as his sister stopped a Frost Giant from killing Hogun who was pulling Fandral off the ice. He turned to Thor, furious at him for putting their sister in this much danger. It may have been Loki's fault they were there but it was Thor's fault they were fighting. "We must go!" Loki shouted at their brother.

"Then go!" Thor shouted back before slamming Mjölnir into a Frost Giant, knocking it off its feet. Loki looked at his brother and saw pure blood lust written on his brother's face. He was enjoying, loving the danger way too much. Thor was consumed by the savage thrill of the battle, proving Loki right once more in the belief that the golden haired warrior should not be king. Thor threw his hammer and it flew straight into the face of a Frost Giant. It just kept going though, slamming into more and more monsters. Loki shook his head, disappointed by his brother's actions, and ran to join the others.

Helena kicked the Frost Giant impaled on her swords off of her blades before running after her friends who had joined Sif once more. Fandral looked up at her, grinning a little through his pain. "How's my face? Did it get scratched?" He asked her jokingly though he was obviously suffering.

The Asgardian princess smiled at him, laughing as she did. It sounded a little crazed but it made Fandral smile a little more. "It's flawless. Not a scratch to it." She assured him. Fandral laughed a little which made him cough, sending up a bit of blood.

Suddenly the ground beneath their feet started shaking and the warriors looked around in fearful confusion, wondering what new horror was coming. They turned and saw ice falling off of something beside them. Something big. Something ugly. Something with huge jagged teeth that could easily pierce through armor. Volstagg immediately threw Fandral over his shoulder and shouted the one thing they were all thinking. "Run!" They immediately did as he suggested and started taking off towards where they'd touched down, their gateway home.

"Thor!" Loki shouted over his shoulder, running after the others. Helena glanced back as she ran and saw her eldest brother being swarmed by Frost Giants. Her eyes then flickered over to the beast breaking out of the ice around it and figured out the plan. Distract Thor while the beast kills his friends and siblings, let him see what's happened, then kill him when he breaks down. "Helena!" Loki shouted when he saw his sister looking back. She looked over at him, fear written all over her face, then looked forward once more. She started running faster, praying that they lived so she could murder Thor.

They ran as fast as they could but the beast was faster than they could ever be, faster than even a Bilgesnipe. Fandral had nothing to stare at but the beast too and when Helena saw his horrified face she whimpered in fright. She didn't want to die. Not today. Not before she could kill Thor for his stupidity. The remains of a tower started falling and Helena slid, propelling herself forward and just narrowly missing getting crushed. She looked back, expecting to see the beast jumping over the fallen tower. It didn't though, bursting out of the ground instead directly behind Sif. It fell back down the hole it made, clawing at the ground as it did. Its tail flew above its head and slammed into the ground, nearly impaling Sif.

"Watch out idiot!" Helena shouted at Sif, her voice filled with fear for her friend. Sif would have glared at her if she wasn't pouring on the speed, the panic of having a near death experience filling her.

Helena heard lightning crackling in the distance but she didn't pay attention, she was too focused on the rune covered ground ahead. The Bifrost opening. Helena let out a joyous cry as they neared it but the cry quickly turned into a scream as the ground beneath their feet began to crumble. She looked back and saw the damage Thor had no doubt done. Then she saw the beast nearing Hogun and she screamed, her only way of telling him what was behind him. Hogun glanced at her, understood, and poured on the speed. The beast swung at him, leaping towards him as it did. The second its feet hit the ground though it fell through the ground, just managing to embed its tail into the ground above but not managing to gets its claws stuck in solid ground. Its tail slipped a few seconds later and it roared as it plunged into the abyss below. Fandral smiled and started laughing at its misfortune.

"Fandral! This is far from funny!" Helena screamed at him before jumping down off a small ice cliff she had ran up. All she got was more laughter and she shook her head as she ran.

The ground beneath them started falling away, opening up huge chasms beneath their feet. Loki and Helena immediately started working their magic, trying to keep the ground stable and unbroken. It didn't work as well as they hoped though, not with their minds filled with panic and fear. It did help them reach the Bifrost opening though, which was what they had been aiming for.

"Heimdall!" Volstagg shouted to the sky, stopping when his feet hit the rune covered ground where they'd landed. "Open the Bridge!" He shouted, his voice echoing so close to the gigantic chasm below. They all looked up to the sky, expecting the Bifrost to open to them. It didn't though and they quickly found out why as a huge clawed paw came up around the side of the chasm.

The beast pulled itself up onto the ice and they stared up at it in horror. Its eyes, its red eyes, stared at them with animal hunger. It wanted to kill them, wanted to rip them apart and crush them between its teeth. It roared and they all stared up at it, too stunned and terrified to attack. Helena wanted desperately to reach over and take her brothers hand but she was still holding her swords. He sensed it though and he took her wrist, holding onto her tightly as they stared up into the face of their soon to be killer. It stood up on its hind legs and looked at something straight ahead, roaring.

Thor flew straight through the beast's roaring mouth, bursting out of the back of its head. The others on the ground scattered as the beast fell to the ground, not wanting to get crushed by the massive thing. Thor landed exactly where they'd been, smiling triumphantly as the beast fell into the abyss below. He stood up and turned to face his friends, only to find himself staring at an army of Frost Giants with Laufey at their head.

Helena turned to her brother, her eyes shining with tears. "I'm going to kill you when we die." She told him, her voice cracking as she spoke. Thor looked over at her, realizing his mistake and knowing there was no way out. The Frost Giants had surrounded them and now they were rushing forward, closing in for the kill.

A loud boom stopped the Frost Giants in their tracks. They all looked skyward and saw descending. Instantly everyone backed up, not wanting to be in the way of whoever was descending. Helena returned her sheaths into existence and shoved her swords away, grabbing onto Loki's hand the second she did. Loki squeezed her hand reassuringly as they stared up at the figure that appeared in the Bifrost. Odin. On horseback. Looking beyond enraged.

"Father!" Thor shouted joyously, raising his hammer into the air. Helena stared at her brother, pitying him a little. It was clear he thought their father was there to help them and it was dangerously close to pathetic. Loki glowered at their brother, disgusted by his ignorance. "We'll finish them together!" Thor shouted excitedly.

"Silence!" Odin hissed. Helena shuddered at their father's tone. It was the same tone he had used on them as children when he gave them orders. It was the no nonsense tone that she'd come to associate with punishment. Thor's smiled disappeared immediately and he looked up at their father in confusion, not understanding why Odin was mad.

Laufey did something and suddenly he was being propelled up to their father on a wave of stone and ice. He stopped when he was just half an inch above eye level with their father, giving himself the height advantage as well as the size advantage. Helena's grip on Loki's hand tightened. She didn't like seeing the Frost Giant king so close to their father. "Allfather." Laufey practically purred. Helena leaned into Loki, swallowing down a whimper. "You look weary." Laufey said, looking at Odin as if he was an interesting toy.

"Laufey." Odin said, completely ignoring the Frost Giant king's comment. He sounded just as weary as he looked though and every last Frost Giant there heard him. They heard the weakness in Odin's voice, one of the worst things that could ever happen. "End this now." Odin commanded.

"Your boy sought this out." Laufey said, watching Odin carefully. Everyone looked towards Thor who was glaring up at the two kings. Helena shook her head and closed her eyes, thinking for the first time in her life that there was no hope for her brother.

"You're right." Odin agreed, never looking over at Thor. Loki looked at his brother though and saw the anger there. How could Thor still be mad? He should be ashamed! Ashamed for endangering his siblings, his friends, and the realm! Loki glared at his brother, hating him in that moment. "And these are the actions of a boy. Treat them as such. You and I can end this, here now, before there's further bloodshed." Odin told the Frost Giant king. Helena noticed the slight twitch of Laufey's lips though and she felt anger boil up inside her. He thought this was amusing!

"We are beyond diplomacy now Allfather. He'll get what he came for." Laufey said, staring at Odin intenetly. The Asgardian warriors, besides Thor, stared up in horror at the Frost Giant king. Realizing what he meant before he even said it. "War." Laufey said, confirming their fears. "And death." The Frost Giant king added, just to make it worse.

Odin stared at Laufey, his face free of emotion. "So be it." He said, nodding slightly.

Suddenly Laufey raised his arm, a dagger made of ice in his hand. The Asgardians rushed forward, prepared to defend their king, but they didn't have to. Odin let out a loud shout, raising Gungnir in the air and opening the Bifrost. Laufey went flying out, slamming into a rock that he quickly grabbed onto. The Bifrost descended and swept up the Asgardians, pulling them back to Asgard.


	8. Thor's Banished

"Why did you bring us back?!" Thor shouted the second they were back in the observatory. Loki pulled his sister to the side, getting them both out of the way of their furious brother and even angrier father.

"Do you realize what you've done?! What you've started?!" Odin shouted back, walking up the steps to Heimdall's sword.

Thor raised Mjölnir up which was the stupidest thing he could do at that moment. It was just another example at how much more of a rash blood craving warrior he was instead of a king. "I was protecting my home!" Thor shouted.

Odin removed Heimdall's sword from the observatory controls. "You cannot even protect your friends how can you hope to protect a kingdom?!" Odin shouted back, tossing the sword to Heimdall who caught it expertly. Odin turned to Sif and the Warriors Three who were standing by awkwardly, waiting to be told what to do. "Get him to the healing room! Now!" Odin shouted at them. They quickly started walking out, eager to get away from the furious Allfather.

"There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act!" Thor shouted. Helena wanted to tell him to shut up but Loki shook his head at her, telling her it would be one of the worst ideas in the world to interrupt a fight between Thor and Odin. "The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you!" Thor said.

"That's pride and vanity talking not leadership." Odin answered immediately. He stared down at his son, his eye narrowed in anger and what could have been disgust. Helena would not be surprised if it _was_ disgust. Thor's action so far had been horrible, actions that would give Helena nightmares for weeks. "You've forgotten everything I've taught you. About a warrior's patience."

"While you wait and be patient the Nine Realms laugh at us." Thor said, sounding dead serious. Helena shook her head quickly, telling Thor to stop. To please just stop. He didn't notice though, his gaze fixated on their father. "The old ways are done! You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!" Thor practically spat out.

That was the last straw it seemed, the thing that finally broke Odin's patience. "You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin shouted, spitting out each insult in true disgust.

"And you are an old man and a fool!" Thor spat back, his face red and contorted with rage.

"Thor!" Helena shouted, horrified that her brother would ever say anything like that to their father. She stepped forward but Loki grabbed her arm, pulling her back and away from the line of fire. He was relieved when neither their father nor their brother paid any attention to her. He didn't know how she would react if one of them yelled at her and they certainly didn't need her exploding with rage, killing them all with unstable magic.

Odin stared at his son, obviously hurt by what Thor said. He remained silent, thinking of what he had to do. The three siblings stared up at him, waiting for him to speak. "Yes, I was a fool." Odin finally whispered, sounding pained. They all remained silent as they stared up at their father in shocked confusion. "To think you were ready." Odin said, staring at the ground.

Loki took a few steps forward, thinking it would look weird if he didn't try to come to Thor's rescue. They were brothers after all; Loki was supposed to stand by Thor no matter what. Helena watched her brother, hoping he'd be able to do damage control. "Father." Loki said, his tone sad and begging as he gave his father an imploring look.

Odin let out an angered shout, pointing at Loki. It was his way of telling the boy to not interrupt, to step back because Odin was not going to listen. Helena snatched her brother's hand in fear and pulled him close to her, afraid not only of their father's rage but at the possibility Loki would do something stupid in response. Loki had swallowed his tongue though, afraid of ruining his plan if he pressed to be heard. He wrapped a protective arm around Helena, noticing her hands were still injured as he did. He wanted to heal them but there was obvious tissue and bone damage, things he couldn't heal. Cartilage in the nose was one thing and skin was extremely easy to seal but anything deeper or stronger was meant to be handled by skilled healers.

Slowly Odin turned back to Thor, looking at his son with disappointment and pain. "Thor Odinson." Odin began, his voice wavering slightly. "You have betrayed the express command of your king." His voice wavered even more now and it was clear he was close to tears. "Through your arrogance and stupidity you've opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horror and desolation of war." Odin said. He picked up Gungnir and placed it in the observatory's controls, lightning to shoot out immediately. The Bifrost began to open much quicker than it had before, sensing the king's urgency to open it.

Helena watched as her father walked down the golden steps to her brother. Thor looked so confused and Odin looked like he was in physical pain. She wrapped her arms around Loki's waist and he wrapped his other arm around her, holding her protectively. He felt her shaking and he shushed her, watching their brother and father silently.

"You are unworthy of these Realms!" Odin shouted, ripping the discs off of Thor's armor. Thor looked at his father in confusion and pain, not understanding what was going on but completely terrified. "You're unworthy of your title!" Odin shouted and ripped away Thor's cloak. "You are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed." Odin said, his voice calm and serious as he said that.

Thor looked over at his brother and sister who stared back at them, both of them expressing whirlwinds of emotions. Loki seemed to be pitying him a little but he was mostly furious. It wasn't hard to guess why when Thor saw Helena holding onto her twin as if he was the only thing that could save her and looking at Thor with a heart breaking mixture of pain and fear. He noticed the blood covering her hands and realized she had been injured. Thor realized that was his fault. If he hadn't started fighting, his sister would never have been hurt. Thor turned back to Odin, only to find him standing once again at the top of the steps.

Odin reached towards Thor. "I now take from you, your power!" He shouted. Instantly Mjölnir flew out of Thor's hand and into Odin's, leaving Thor looking like a lost puppy without his hammer. Helena hated seeing that look on her brother's face but she forced herself to watch him. "In the name of my father and his father before!" Odin shouted. The armor on Thor's arms fell apart, hitting the floor with small clangs. "I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!" Odin shouted, pointing Mjölnir at Thor. A blast of lightning shot out of the hammer and slammed into Thor who flew backwards into the Bifrost, losing his armor as he did.

Helena screamed as her brother was consumed by the Bifrost and she tried to run forward into the Bifrost to get him back. Loki pulled her back though, pulling her against his chest so she couldn't get away. Helena tried to get loose but he kept a firm grip on her and she screamed furiously at him, her voice muffled by his armor. Loki heard his father enchant Mjölnir before throwing it into the Bifrost after Thor. He looked over at their father and their eyes met. Odin silently told him to take his sister away and Loki did, teleporting them to her room.

The second they were in her room and away from the Allfather Helena started sobbing. She fell to her knees and Loki fell with her, keeping his arms around her. Eventually she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, turning his hold into a comforting hug. "He's g-gone! Th-Thor's gone!" Helena sobbed out, her heart broken by the loss of her brother.

Loki shushed his sister, rocking her as he did. He never meant for this to happen. He had wanted Odin to catch them before they got to Jotunheim. He had wanted their father to realize how rash Thor was without anything actually happening. The idea that Thor would risk all their lives would have been enough to make Odin change his mind. Loki had never wanted Thor gone, never. He just wanted his father to see that he had to either reconsider his choice or wait till Thor actually learned how to be a king. Helena had been so right, Fate twisted plans. His plan had been turned on its side and now he was holding his baby sister as she sobbed over their brother's banishment. Loki closed his eyes and silently begged Helena to forgive him for causing all of this. For hurting her. For making her cry.

**Chocolate for all my readers!**


	9. Suspicions

A few hours later, after Helena had finished crying, Loki insisted she got to the healing room. She wouldn't move though so he teleported her there, surprising a few healers when they suddenly appeared. He explained to them what happened to her hands and they assured him it would be simple to fix her hands, though they wanted to run a few quick tests afterwards to make sure she was completely alright after being in Jotunheim for so long. Loki nodded before leading her over to a spare bed, not wanting to leave her along. They could see Sif and the Warriors Three at the other end of the healing room being checked up on. Sif gave Loki a look that said he was going to tell her where Thor was the second she got over there.

Helena felt numb as she held her hands out and let the healers fix them. Crying always did this to her, always left her drained. She smiled a little though as she watched Loki try to argue his way out of being examined by the healers. They were insistent though and eventually, after a quick pleading look from Helena, he allowed them to run the tests. They had just finished with him and were doing one last test on Helena, checking to make sure her internal organs were all unharmed, when Frigga came running into the room.

"Loki! Helena! Oh my sweet children!" Frigga shouted, running over to them. She pulled Loki into a back breaking hug before moving over to Helena who she was just a little bit more gentle with since she was obviously stricken. Frigga pulled away from Helena and looked at her daughter in worry. "Honey are you okay? What's happened? I was just told you were in the healing room. Where's Thor?" She asked quickly.

Helena felt her eyes well up with tears again and she turned away, wiping them away. Loki quickly stepped forward, drawing Frigga's attention towards him. "I can explain." He told her. That was when Sif and Hogun decided to join them, bowing low to Frigga before turning to Loki. "My mother wants to know what happened." He told them. They nodded in understanding and turned to face Queen Frigga. Sif was determined to butt in if Loki didn't tell the story quite right, not wanting him to trick the queen. Loki knew what she was doing and sent her a glare before beginning his explanation.

Loki downplayed a lot of what happened after Thor's first attack on the Frost Giants. Sif didn't glare at him for this either, thinking it best if the queen didn't know how close to death each of them had come. He of course had to explain how they got the injuries though which resulted in Frigga chewing them out for about fifteen minutes for not being careful enough, by which time Volstagg and Fandral had joined them. They were all hunched over by the time she was done, crushed by her anger. Finally though she calmed down and Sif took over, telling the rest of their tale up until the point she left with the three men.

"I do not know what happened when we left." Sif told the queen. She looked over at the twins but mostly at Loki. "You'd have to ask your children that." She said.

Loki opened his mouth to tell her off but a strangled sob from Helena stopped him. They all looked towards her and saw tears running down her cheeks. "Thor's gone. Father banished him." She choked out. Everyone stared at her in shock, everyone but Loki who sat down beside her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. No one wanted to believe her but it made sense. Besides, Thor would be there now praising them if he was still in Asgard. "Mother he's gone." Helena sobbed, burying her face once more in her twin's neck. Frigga shook her head, not believing it, and let the healing room to no doubt ask Heimdall if what her daughter said was true.

The healers let them leave roughly twenty minutes later, insisting they stay near the healing room and report back in a few hours for more tests. They wanted to double check then to make sure there really was no damage. They were also told to keep blankets around themselves or at least sit by a fire, anything to banish the cold the warriors still felt on their skin. The group nodded, assured the healers they would do as they said, and went to one of the private lounge rooms not far from the healing room. They ordered food and acted like nothing was wrong for the first hour. It only lasted an hour though. The day's events had left them shell shocked and reeling.

"Sorry." Helena said suddenly, making them all jump a little. They looked at her in confusion and she gave them a forced smile. "About being such a blubbering baby." She explained. She had originally meant it to be a joke but as she said it her tone turned serious, her shame for appearing weak in front of them painfully clear.

"Don't apologize sister." Loki told her gently, not looking over. He was staring down at his arm and Helena knew he was thinking about when the Frost Giant grabbed him. Her own eyes drifted to her arms and she began to wonder why her skin had turned blue. "You love Thor. It's only natural you'll be distraught by his banishment." Loki said, sounding sad now. He was sad. His brother was gone, on Midgard, the usual place to send banished Asgardians, and there was no guarantee of him coming back. But Loki was distracted too as his mind raced with possibilities on why his skin and Helena's had turned blue.

"We should never have let him go." Volstagg said, turning the subject in the direction no one really wanted to talk about but knew they had to. Helena looked up, her eyes immediately landing on Volstagg's arm. He'd been frostbitten by the Jotun's touch, why hadn't they? And his hadn't turned blue, it'd gone straight to black. The only thing that could be touched by a Frost Giant and not freeze was another Frost Giant so how had they not died. A horrible thought appeared in Helena's head and she shoved it down, hating herself for even considering it. It was impossible.

Sif sighed loudly, turning to look at Volstagg. "There was no stopping him." She said.

Helena shook her head, pulling the blanket she had draped over her shoulders even tighter around her. "Yes there was." She said. She looked up at Sif, dull anger in her eyes. "We could have really refused to go. Thor would never have gone to Jotunheim alone, not without his loyal group of friends around him. He can't fight without at least two of us." Helena told the other woman.

"At least he's only banished, not dead." Fandral said quickly, stopping the girls from getting into a fight. "Which is what we'd all be if that guard hadn't told Odin where we'd gone." He said.

Volstagg looked up at them all as Hogun rubbed healing stones into his dead flesh, trying to return it to its normal color. Volstagg had refused to let the healers fix it after they said they wouldn't have to cut anything off, saying he only trusted Hogun's healing. "How did the guard even know?" Volstagg asked them, sounding far from thankful to the guard.

Helena instantly looked over at her brother. He looked back and she gave him a look, telling him to tell the others the truth. Loki sighed but nodded, deciding to not upset her further. "I told him." Loki told everyone, his voice emotionless.

Fandral was the first to speak. "What?" He asked, staring at Loki in disbelief. Helena looked over at him and rolled her eyes again, unable to help herself. She'd looked over at him about five times already and she just couldn't stop rolling her eyes at his outfit. Did he really have to leave his chest exposed like that?

"I told him to go to Odin after we'd left." Loki answered calmly. His expression turned dark and he frowned deeply. "He should be flogged for taking so long we should never have reached Jotunheim." He added furiously, thinking he'd beat the guard himself for being so slow.

"You told the guard?!" Volstagg shouted furiously.

Helena gave Volstagg a warning look that he ignored. Loki shook his head at her, telling her not to start an argument. "I saved our lives." Loki told Volstagg. "And Thor's." He added. Everyone but Helena was giving him some form of a glare even though they knew he was right. Helena hated that. She hated how they could treat her brother so horribly even when he'd done something for their own good, something that had actually saved their lives. "I had no idea father would banish him for what he did." Loki said. He sounded emotionless though and it didn't seem to convince the others. Helena knew that was just a defense mechanism though, a way to keep others from seeing his real emotions.

Sif practically launched herself out of her seat. "Loki." She said, walking over to him with a pleading look on her face. "You must go to the Allfather and convince him to change his mind." She said, her voice begging.

"And if I do then what?" Loki asked, staring at her as if she was an idiot. He glanced around the room and saw the others watching him carefully to see how he'd reply. He huffed angrily through his nose, thinking they'd never act this way to Thor if he'd done what Loki had. "I love Thor more dearly than most of you but you know what he is. He's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous. You saw how he was today! Is that what Asgard needs from its king?" He spat out, letting his anger get the better of him. He started leaving the room but stopped beside his twin. "Meet me in my room when you can sister. We have to talk." He told her.

"Of course brother." Helena answered, nodding. Loki smiled at her, thanking her for never questioning him, before leaving the room.

Sif watched Loki go, glaring at him the whole time. Helena gave the woman her own glare, not appreciating that much hate and distrust being directed at her twin. "He may speak for the good of Asgard but he has _always _been jealous of Thor." Sif said the second Loki was gone.

"And why wouldn't he be?!" Helena immediately snapped at her. Sif looked over at her in surprise, obviously she had forgotten about the Asgardian princess was in the room even though Loki had stopped beside her. "Thor was the golden boy, the most loved out of the two of them their whole lives! Loki has every right to be jealous!" Helena said furiously.

"Helena is right." Volstagg said, earning a thankful look from Helena. Volstagg smiled slightly at her, telling her your welcome. "And we should be thankful to him! He saved our lives!" He added, turning back to the others.

"Laufey said there were traitors in the house of Odin." Hogun said, looking up at them. His eyes traveled over to Helena who was beginning to glare ferociously at him. "A master of magic could bring three Jotuns into Asgard." He said, his tone firm. He sounded like he was trying to convince Helena that her brother had betrayed all of Asgard.

Helena took a step towards Hogun, her magic sparking around her as her temper flared. "Are you accusing my brother of this attack? Because if you are Hogun I would suggest saying outright instead implying things and enraging me!" Helena shouted, walking over to the grim warrior. He said nothing, just stared at her calmly. He regretted angering her but he couldn't just let her trust Loki so easily. Even if he was her brother. Helena realized she was going to get no answer from Hogun so she spun around to face Sif, the easiest target. "My brother would _never_ do _anything_ to threaten the safety of Asgard! _Not_ Loki! How dare you even suggest it?!" She shouted.

"Helena is right." Fandral said, repeating Volstagg's word from earlier. Helena looked over at him in surprise but smiled at him, thankful. Fandral smiled back a little before looking back and forth between Hogun and Sif. "Loki has always been one for mischief but you are talking about something else entirely." He told them.

Sif scoffed at him, rolling her eyes as she seemed to once again forget about Helena standing there. "Who else could elude Heimdall's gaze?" She asked angrily.

"How about me?!" Helena shouted, storming over to Sif. She stood toe to toe with the female warrior, zapping her with her magic as she did. Sif tried to stand still and not show how much the zappings hurt but she winced repeatedly nonetheless. "I can work the same magic as Loki! _I _could have done it! So why aren't you accusing me?!" She shouted. Sif glared at her but shifted awkwardly, her thoughts easy to read on her face. "It's because you don't like him and you don't trust him. All because of a few pranks." Helena said, her voice dangerously calm now. Sif took a step back, afraid of getting hit with a much larger painful bolt of magic. Helena sighed heavily and took a step back too, giving the warrior woman space. "You trust me though, correct?" She asked, her voice shaking with held back anger.

Sif nodded. "Of course Helena. I trust you with my life." She told the younger girl.

Helena looked up at Sif, her eyes pleading. "Then please, before you do something stupid and tell someone about your little suspicions, let me talk to my brother. Find out what I can." She begged the other woman. Sif's eyebrows knitted together as she frowned, not liking what Helena was requesting. It meant her being alone with Loki which was a big no no in Sif's book. Helena knew the woman's thought and had to force herself not to roll her eyes. "Please Sif? It's not like he's going to get _hit_ _me _for accusing him of things." Helena said, laughing a little at the thought. Loki wouldn't even raise his finger against her and his threats were as hollow as a drum.

Sif stared at Helena for a few minutes but finally nodded. "Fine. But don't expect us to wait long." She said angrily.

"Thank you Lady Sif." Helena said, a bitter note in her voice along with hateful mockery. She offered Sif a much too sweet smile before storming from the room.


	10. A Talk of Theories

Helena teleported to her brother's bedroom, finding him lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling in contemplative silence. Helena knew better than to interrupt his thinking so she just crawled up onto his bed and curled into a ball against his legs like a hound. She started thinking too as she stared at her brother's blanket, her mind racing through a million different topics at once.

What was going on with Thor? Was he okay? Were the Midgardians being kind to him? Was he causing trouble down there on Midgard? How about Loki? Did he have anything to do with any of this? He had been so happy when they were making their way to the weapons vault, had he been happy because his plan had prevented Thor from becoming king? Would Loki really lie to her about something that huge? Would he endanger Asgard like that? Was he even capable of bringing Jotuns into Asgard? Helena couldn't do it but did that mean Loki couldn't too since their powers seemed so evenly matched? And why in Odin's name did their skin turn blue?!

"Sister." Loki said after half an hour of silence. Helena could come up with no answers, just theories and ideas. She looked up at her brother, hoping he could answer a few of her questions. Loki looked down at her, sitting up a bit. "Let's focus on the blue skin first, shall we?" He said casually, as if they were discussing one of their plans for a prank. Helena nodded and sat up. Loki propped himself up against his pillows and stared at her as she watched him carefully, supporting her head with her hands. "Alright so what's your theory? You have one I assume?" He asked her.

Helena bit her lip and shook her head. "Brother it's not exactly a good theory. Or plausible for that matter." She told him, looking at the blanket. She started tracing patterns onto the blanket, never daring to look at her brother.

Loki nearly rolled his eyes at her. "Sister I'm just confirming my own thoughts." He explained and Helena looked up at him, still cautious about telling him in case he got mad. "If your mind found the same theory as mine then that makes the theory at least somewhat possible. Tell me your theory." He told her. Helena nodded reluctantly and rolled onto her back so that she was staring at the ceiling instead of him.

"There's only one thing that can touch a Frost Giant and not die and that's another Frost Giant." Helena said matter-of-factly. She glanced up at her brother and Loki nodded, telling her to go on. Helena bit her lip and looked at the ceiling again. "What if we're Frost Giants brother? That's the only way I explain the blue skin and the fact we didn't die touching that monster." She said, fear settling in her stomach along with a fair amount of nausea.

"I can't think of anything different." Loki told her simply, masking his horror at the idea with nonchalantness. Helena instantly wiggled up the bed until she was lying directly beside him. She looked over at him, silently asking him if it was even possible. Loki sighed sadly. "I'm sorry sister but it's perfectly plausible. We were told we were born right around the time father retrieved the Casket. No one ever told us where exactly we were born in the palace and mother has no pregnancy stories about us like she does with Thor." He said, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. He was treating this like a problem he had to solve, taking his emotions out of it so he could focus on the facts.

Helena grabbed one of Loki's pillows and shoved it over her face, pulling it down hard as if she was trying to suffocate herself. Loki looked at her sadly, feeling how upset she was. The idea that they could possibly be like those beasts, the idea that their family wasn't their family, the idea of having been lied to their whole lives was heartbreaking at best. Helena screamed into the pillow when she realized she couldn't suffocate herself, running out of breath quickly since she was muffling the scream with the pillow. Loki grabbed the pillow off of her face and chucked it across the room, not liking her basically trying to kill herself with the damnable thing. Helena looked at her brother angrily, not appreciating him snatching things from her hands.

"Don't give me that look Lena." Loki told her sternly. Helena rolled her eyes and simply grabbed another of his pillows, placing it on her face. She let it balance on her nose till it fell back, hitting her chin. Loki laughed at her then let out a loud heavy sigh. He had a plan to find out the truth but he didn't like it. "Sister, do not hate me for suggesting this." He begged her, knowing she probably wouldn't like it.

Helena glanced up at him before returning her attention to the pillow. "I won't hate you brother. It's impossible for me to hate you." She told him. She stared at the pillow angrily, wanting it to rest on her forehead instead of her chin so it wouldn't fall into her mouth as she spoke. Helena poked her tongue out and hit the pillow with it, sending it a half inch up into the air. It shifted backwards, landing on her forehead instead of her mouth. "Ugh that's gross." Helena said, making a face at the taste of the pillow. It tasted like fabric. Gross. "What do you suggest brother?" Helena asked, making another face as she made disgusted noises at the taste on her tongue.

Loki laughed at his sister's strangeness before sobering up once more. "Sister." He said softly though it begged for her attention. Helena instantly sighed and pushed the pillow off of her, sending it flying off the bed. She didn't want to talk about this anymore, didn't even want to think about it, but she knew she had to. Helena looked up at her brother expectantly, telling him to continue. "I think I know a way to confirm our theory." Loki informed her.

"Stop stalling brother." Helena snapped at him, sounding tired. Loki smiled a little, she knew him so well. "State your way." She ordered him.

Loki took a deep breath. "We can hold the Casket." He said quickly, releasing the breath as he did. Helena stared at him, shocked that he even suggest that. He knew the rule, do _not_ touch the Casket. Father would be furious! "Think about it sister!" Loki said when he realized his sister was skeptical. "Why would father forbid us from touching it when we were allowed to touch the others? He must have known something will probably happen to us if we touched it so he forbade us from doing so. He forbade Thor too no doubt to dull our suspicions and because we'd throw fits if our brother got to do something we didn't." Loki told her.

Helena shook her head, sitting up. "Theories, brother. All of this is just theories!" She said, looking at him. Her eyes were wider than usual and fearful, she didn't want to test anything. All she wanted was to erase all that had happened since Loki came to get them for the coronation. If she could do that her life would be bliss.

"Then let's test it sister!" Loki said. Helena shook her head and started crawling off the bed but Loki grabbed her arm, stopping her. Helena didn't turn though, knowing Loki's puppy dog look would win he over instantly. "You have to want to know the truth too, Lena. I know you and you hate to leave a mystery unsolved. Please, do this with me." He begged her.

Helena sighed and turned around, looking at Loki's puppy dog face and giving up completely on arguing. "I want to know the truth." She admitted, nodding as she did. Loki grinned smugly at her and Helena rolled her eyes at him, slipping out of his grip as she did. She got up and stretched. "We're not testing it for two days though, alright? With everything's that happened today I don't feel like doing anything else for a while." She told him.

"Of course little sister. We can meet in here tomorrow after lunch when everyone's going about their business." Loki told her. Helena nodded, shooting him a look that took him a bit to read. She seemed to want to ask him something and yet she seemed afraid of the answer he might give her. "They made you doubt me, didn't they?" Loki asked knowingly.

"Who?" Helena asked innocently, turning away. She looked at her sleeves as if they were the most interesting things in the world and plucked at them. She had swapped her armor for casual wear on their way to the lounge, not wanting to be in the bloodstained metal anymore.

Loki let out a sound somewhere between annoyance and amusement. "Oh like you don't know." He said sarcastically, angrily. Helena shifted awkwardly, feeling his eyes burning into her back. "Lady Sif, the woman who doesn't trust me as far as she can throw me, and the Warriors Three who tolerated me because they were friends with our brother. They've decided that I must have something to do with the Frost Giants getting in, haven't they? And they accused me in front of you, the fools." Loki said, venom in his voice.

Helena remained silent, sensing one of her brother's rare fits coming on. Loki knew her silence was a confirmation and he growled, furious. He got up off the bed and began pacing the room, glaring so fiercely at the floor that he could have burned a hole in it. Helena reached up and grabbed the silver heart hanging from her necklace, the one thing besides Loki and Thor that could calm her nerves. It was a gift from Loki though so maybe it counted technically as Loki calming her.

"I can't believe they'd accuse me of such a thing in front of you!" Loki shouted, surprising Helena. She looked over at her twin in confusion, she had expected him to be furious at them for accusing him of bringing Jotuns into Asgard. Loki saw Helena's confused look and he stopped to face her, reading her thoughts. "I can see how they'd think it was me, Lena. The evidence seems to be pointing right at me!" He told her, sounding furious. Helena watched him sadly though she had to force back a smile. Loki couldn't have been the one who let in the Frost Giants; he'd never admit there was evidence against him otherwise. "But to accuse me in front of my own sister and actually expect her to agree with you is a crime!" Loki shouted.

"How do you know they expected me to agree?" Helena asked immediately, trying to distract him from his anger.

Loki stopped and stared at her, giving her an exasperated look. "It's _them_, Lena. They always expect people to agree with them when it comes to me." He told her.

Helena nodded absently, knowing all too well he was correct. She'd had to defend her twin many times when Sif and the Warriors Three started making comments behind Loki's back. They were oh so careful to not say something in front of Thor but they seemed to forget every time that Helena was just as protective of Loki and had a temper that rivaled Thor's. She could very clearly remember maiming Fandral once for calling her brother an "ignorant childish bastard."

A thought occurred to Loki and he turned to his sister, concern on his face. "You trust me though, don't you sister? Unlike them." Loki asked, watching his sister carefully. He didn't know how he'd react if she said she didn't. She was his twin, his beloved sister. The idea of her not trusting him hurt more than getting stab through the gut.

Helena turned to him, one eyebrow raised in disbelieving confusion. "Really brother? You must ask that?" She asked him. Loki shrugged nonchalantly before looking at her intently, obviously needing an answer. Helena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily. "Of course I trust you Loki! You are my brother for Odin's sake!" She said. Loki visibly relaxed and he grinned crookedly at Helena, overjoyed. Helena shook her head but smiled at him. "You confuse me Loki." She told him truthfully, still smiling.

"And you me, Lena." Loki told her cheerfully.

Helena shook her head again. "Whatever you say brother. I'm going to bed." She told him. Loki opened his arms, silently asking for a hug, and gave her a puppy look. Helena laughed and hugged her brother tightly. "See you tomorrow brother." Helena told him. Loki nodded and released her, giving her one last smile before she teleported from his room.

Loki sighed and made his way over to the pillow he'd thrown. He picked it up and dusted it off before tossing it back onto his bed, mentally fighting off the sense of foreboding he was feeling. It was taking over the anger he felt towards those ignorant warriors and clouding every thought running through his head. What would happen tomorrow? Was Loki's theory on the Casket correct or did Odin just seriously not want them touching it? Loki collapsed onto his bed and sighed, his mind conjuring up a million different scenarios of what was going to happen tomorrow.


	11. Afb, please read

**I got a review on my Daughter of Tony Stark story that I really just...I have to respond to it. I'm horrid at expressing ****_my_**** emotions but I'm seriously going to try with this. Afb, I'm calling you that since I have no clue whether or not you'll want your first name up for everyone to know, your review...I'm trying to figure out a way to respond. You said thank you and all I'm thinking is I need to be thanking you. No one,_ no one_, has ever given me a review that really struck me. No offense to anyone else whose reading this, I love the compliments and all but this review, Afb's review, seriously just it...like I said I'm no good at expressing my own emotions. Afb, I'll go ahead and say your welcome but I'm also going to say thank you because...wow. I just...UGH! I wish I was better at actually saying what I'm feeling. I'm writing this and I'm not going to go back and change it because I want you to know exactly what I'm thinking in response to your review. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm so shocked that I got that kind of response and I'm...I feel kind of numb. I don't know if this is horrible to say but I'm so happy I actually can write good enough to make someone feel like that. That is probably horrid to say and I'm sorry if I made you mad by saying it but I had to say it and...If you ever read this and I hope you do I just want to tell you, thank you. Oh and you should tell her. Really, you should.**


	12. Dreams

**Afb you've got a message at the bottom of this chapter. Everyone else, so do you but beneath hers. The dreams in this chapter are separated by lines.**

Helena tossed and turned in her bed as memories turned into dreams. They were definitely not going in order because one minute she was an adolescent and the next she was a child. Then she'd be a young woman then a child again. It was confusing, the irregular changing ages, but that didn't mean Helena didn't like it.

* * *

_Thor was playing with his hammer again. He'd gotten it about two days before at his coming of age party and yet he was still messing with it. So far he'd struck about three different trees, destroyed several statues, ruined a garden, evaporated an outdoor pool, nearly killed Loki when he threw a fit and forgot he was holding the hammer, and started a forest fire. Still, Odin had not taken the stupid thing from the golden haired boy. Helena understood why, he had to learn to use it properly and taking it away would teach him nothing, but she still didn't like it. Especially since she nor her twin had received any sort of magical weapon. Sure Helena's swords were enchanted but it wasn't like she could summon lightning or start fires with them. Still, despite her jealousy and annoyance, Helena couldn't help but smile at the way her brother's face lit up as he played with that stupid hammer._

* * *

_Helena sniffled, holding her skinned knee close to her chest. She was trying not to cry but it had hurt, falling, and she had embarrassed herself in front of her friends. That hurt more than anything. It was a blow to her pride, something she couldn't really stand. They'd left her too when she fell, Sif and the boys, to find Thor. Loki would have stayed with her but he was sick, stuck in bed while he dealt with a fever Frigga was worrying way too much about. Sure Loki's skin was usually cool to the touch but a fever didn't mean he was dying. Helena sniffled again and wished her twin was there to insult their friends who had so cruelly abandoned her._

_Someone placed their hand on her shoulder and Helena looked up, expecting blueish green eyes but getting nothing but sky blue. That surprised Helena and she stared at her older brother in shock as he sat down beside her and pulled her up onto his lap as their mother did. He wasn't much older than Helena, looking a solid Midgardian ten when she looked roughly a Midgardian seven, but he was already developing muscles and was much bigger than her and acted like he was years and years older. In her shock she had stopped suppressing her tears and they ran down her cheek, dripping off her chin. Thor wiped them away, giving her a loving smile. "Crying doesn't suit you little sister." He told her._

_"Sif and the others are looking for you." Helena informed her brother, thinking he'd leave her the instant he knew._

_"I know." Thor said, drying Helena's face with his sleeve. Helena's mouth hung open in a surprised little o that Thor smiled at. "They found me and I asked why you weren't with them. You told me yesterday how excited you were by the prospect of playing with them today while I studied so I knew you should have been with them. Fandral told me you had fallen and was being a 'big baby' about it so they left you. I demanded to know where you were, they told me, and I left. Not after telling them I'd beat them later of course." Thor told her._

_Helena smiled and when the little girl smiled everyone else did too. Thor grinned at his sister, glad he had cheered her up. "You came to check up on me instead of playing with our friends?" She asked, not really asking for confirmation. She was more or less just stating it in joyous shock._

_Thor nodded earnestly, giving her a look. "I can't believe you'd think I would leave my sister alone somewhere in pain." He said, sounding more cheerful than annoyed. Helena grinned again and planted a little sister kiss on his cheek. Thor grinned again and grabbed her hand. "Come on little sister, let's go visit brother." He told her. Helena eagerly jumped up, pulling Thor up with her. They laughed as they raced through the halls to their brother's room, Helena's skinned knee completely forgotten._

* * *

_Helena was used to flirting with guards and getting nothing more than blushes, small smiles, and ever so slight flirting back. It was just something she did to pass the time when her brothers were gone and it was also something she used to get what she wanted. It was only flirting though and none of the men would ever flirt with her first. They had all fought beside her brothers at one point and knew their strength and how defensive they were of their young sister. They were afraid of getting either smashed with Mjolnir or blasted with magic if they dared make any advances on her. Fandral was the exception. He would flirt and suggest and yet Helena was positive he would never dare touch her if she didn't want him to. Fandral was not that type of man though he was an egotistical pig. So when a nobleman's son came to the palace one day for a banquet and started flirting with Helena almost immediately it took her by surprise. When he gently touched her cheek or let his hand linger a little too long on her arm in front of her brothers it left her speechless. He was not afraid of her brothers._

_That alone should have been enough to tell Helena to stay as far away from the boy as possible but she was curious about him. What type of man was not afraid of her brothers? She wanted to find out. Which was why she agreed to take a walk with him while everyone else stayed in the banquet hall. She didn't notice her brothers' eyes on her as she left and she did not notice them following after her five minutes later. Helena was too focused on this very strange boy who was taking an unafraid interest in her._

_They talked until they were suddenly in a corridor where no one was and where no one would suddenly appear. That was when the boy pressed Helena to the wall and stared at her as if she was prey. He was uncomfortably close, terrifying close, and Helena told him to get off of her. He chuckled and grabbed her arms, keeping her from running. He told her no, not until he got what he wanted from her. Helena tried screaming but she had lost her voice. She was so terrified she didn't even think to fight against him as he brought his face close to hers, disgusting animalistic hunger in his eyes. He pulled at the flimsy thin sleeves holding her dress up and Helena whimpered._

_Before he could land the kiss or lower her dress any further he was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown across the corridor. He slammed into the opposite wall, sinking about an inch or two deep. Thor stormed across the hall to the boy and grabbed him by the throat before slamming him back into the wall, making the human sized dent about another inch deep. Loki grabbed his sister's shoulder and asked if she was okay, wiping the tears she didn't know she was shedding from her cheeks. Helena nodded and told him to help Thor. Loki turned, saw that the boy was trying to fight his brother, and let out a feral growl. He lunged at the boy and crashed into him, bringing him to the ground. He sat on the boy's chest and punched him repeatedly until his face was practically unrecognizable. Only then did Loki let him up and then the fool decided to keep fighting, giving Thor plenty of an excuse to slam his own fist into the boy's face and knock him unconscious. The brothers instantly rushed to their sister and enveloped her in a rare both brothers hug. They promised that nothing like that would ever happen again, promised to kill the next one, and Helena sobbed harder, loving her brothers even more than usual._

* * *

_Thor and Loki were playing chess. It was ridiculous, both brothers knew the game would be quick and several things would be broken by the end and yet they still played. Helena laughed as she watched Thor getting more and more frustrated as his younger brother won. Loki was brilliant at chess, brilliant at all strategic things really. He smirked up at his brother as he made his move, trapping his brother's King. "Checkmate." He declared cheekily. Helena laughed wildly as Thor shouted in mock anger and flipped the chess board, grinning as he did._

* * *

_Helena grinned wildly and swung her swords at the oncoming enemy. She didn't even remember who they were fighting anymore, she'd woken up to the sound of an attack on their camp and had started fighting instinctively. Helena was practically still asleep and she was still managing to kill anything that came at her with ease. Of course there weren't many getting to her. Loki was at her back, fighting tooth and nail, while Thor seemed to dance around them in a circle, taking out anything that got too close. The twins were basically picking off whatever Thor had missed and breached his little circle of death. Though she loved fighting that didn't bother Helena in the least. It didn't matter who the enemy was. It didn't matter where they were. They were together. They were fighting together. That was all that mattered._

* * *

Helena smiled in her sleep but suddenly her smile disappeared, replaced with a confused frown as everything went black. No new memory appeared in the blackness and her sleeping hands instantly sought out for something to hold. She latched onto one of her pillows and pulled it to her chest, hugging it tightly as she faced the darkness.

* * *

_Minutes passed then suddenly Thor appeared out of the blackness, running away from something. He spotted Helena and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring at her with wide eyes that shined with fear. There were cuts and bruises on his face and large open wounds all over his body. Without his armor and Mjolnir whatever he had been fighting had almost killed him. "Sister! Sister they're too strong!" Thor shouted at her. There was a loud growl behind him and he spun around, his eyes widening even further in fear. He ran away, completely abandoning his sister in his fear. About a yard or two away he suddenly fell to the ground, screaming as something ripped into his back. Helena saw the blood but didn't seen the attacker. "Sister! Sister please! Help me!" Thor screamed out as blood gushed from his back. Helena ran forward, hell bent on saving her brother, but the more she ran forward the farther and farther he seemed to get. Finally he was lost in the darkness and she was left alone with nothing but his screams echoing in her ears._

* * *

Helena's eyes flew open. Her room was filled with light, she had forgotten to dim the lanterns, and she couldn't be happier about it. She pulled herself into a sitting position and hugged the pillow so tightly she was surprised the stuffing didn't come out. Tears were pouring out of her eyes and running down her cheeks but there was no Thor there to wipe them away. Loki could comfort her, would if she went to his room, but Thor had always been the one who she went to for nightmares. Loki had plenty of his own and she didn't like to give him more by telling him her own. Besides, Thor was just more comforting. Loki would make jokes and perhaps call her stupid for ever thinking this or that could happen but Thor could just be there and barely have to say anything so that she'd know everything was okay. Helena could hug either of her brothers easily but if she needed unspoken comfort she'd turn to Thor's arms, his warm arms. Helena wanted her brother, was afraid for her brother, and needed her brother.

After a few minutes Helena decided that she couldn't just sit there and not know what was happening to her brother. She got up out of bed and changed into clothes that looked vaguely Midgardian. Simple pants, a pair of boots, a loose fitting tunic. It wasn't perfect, the boots were just a little too sturdy and her tunic just a bit too medieval, but it wouldn't raise too much suspicion on Midgard. Besides, maybe the Midgardians had taken a turn towards the past when it came to their fashion in the last thousand years. After all, Midgard was a funny place and the mortals would do strange things such as that.

Helena tucked a small knife into her boot before teleporting just beneath the Gate. Heimdall was already waiting for her there, standing at the front of his observatory and clearly watching her. Helena took a deep breathe before walking towards the Gatekeeper.

**Afb, of course I'd write a whole chapter to respond. You have no idea just how much your review meant to me which is why I'm writing a gigantic paragraph to respond to your response. Thank you so much for thinking I have that much potential and I really hope that someday I can prove you right. I can't describe just how amazing I felt reading your opinion on my writing. I just...I seriously can't describe it. I really want to prove you right. I don't know how I'll do it but I'm going to. I swear, I'm going to. I really hope you tell her because you are an amazing person who has made an impact on my life without really trying. Thank you so much. Is Sam short for Samantha? Yeah I basically just ruined the mood by asking that but I'm curious. Also, no Starling Strider isn't my real name. It's just a name I like to use cause I've never seen anyone else use it and I really like it. My real name's Nala. I was named after the lioness on Lion King.**

**Everybody else, thank you so much for reading! Your feedback always makes me smile and knowing you guys like it makes me all happy. CHOCOLATE FOR ALL!**


	13. A Quick Chat

Helena, for once, did not stare at Heimdall in stunned awe. She stared at him pleadingly, like a desperate woman, but she did not look at him in awe. She wasn't awed by him anyways. Not at the moment. At the moment he was the man she had to get past to make sure her brother was okay. "Good Heimdall." Helena said politely as she stopped in front of him. She winced slightly, remembering Loki using the same greeting when they were going to Jotunheim. "I have to ask a favor of you." Helena said, getting right to the point.

"You want me to lie." Heimdall answered knowingly. It was kind of creepy how he knew everything but it made asking him for things so much easier. "What would you have me lie about?" He asked though Helena was sure it was only him being polite. Of course he knew what she wanted him to lie about.

"I need to see my brother, Thor. I want to make sure he is okay but because of his banishment I cannot do that easily." Helena answered. She tried not to fiddle with the sleeves of her tunic but she found it impossible under the Gatekeeper's gaze. "Father would not wish me to see Thor now. If he saw me use the Bifrost he'd be furious and he bring me back home before I'd ever reach Thor. I need to use other means of getting to Midgard and I would like if you would not tell my father, should he ask, of these other means." Helena said. She sounded formal enough and polite enough but there was an underlying bit of fear to her voice. She needed to get to her brother and the longer she waited the more chances there were for Thor to get into trouble. What if Heimdall did not agree to let her go without the Bifrost? What if he told Odin? She's be locked in her room for the rest of her life.

Heimdall watched Helena carefully, his eyes shining. "What other means do you possess?" He asked.

Helena nearly sighed. If he was curious that was a good sign...so far. "Magic can accomplish much. I can lock onto my brother's energy and teleport to him no matter how many worlds away he is." She explained. A new light appeared in the Gatekeeper's eyes and Helena realized he was trying to work out if her other means could be used to get three Jotuns into Asgard. It couldn't though. "My means could not have been used to transport the Jotuns." Helena said. The Gatekeeper looked at her though she wasn't sure if he believed her or not. "You can lock onto energy and travel to it but that's one energy you have to focus on. Then you have to focus on yours, to make sure it doesn't alter. To teleport with someone else you have to know their energy perfectly and be able to keep it that way as you travel. So there's three energies you have to focus on and not mutate. To transport three Jotuns whose energy you know nothing of would kill them or the transporter." Helena said, her eyes lighting up like they always did when she was talking about magic. Helena began to wonder what other type of magic could be used but everything was ruled out quickly. The Bifrost was the only portal between worlds...probably. "Besides, if the person teleported the Jotuns they'd be easy to pick up. They'd be a very powerful sorcerer and they would not have been at the coronation. There's no sorcerer powerful enough yet to transport three Jotuns and all ones that could have tried it were at the coronation." Helena said. She hoped that drew attention away from her brother though she wasn't sure it did. Still, she knew he couldn't have possibly done it so she would defend him to her dying breath.

"Why ask me to lie?" Heimdall asked.

Helena sighed and grabbed the silver heart hanging from her neck. "Because I can't hide my teleporting from you and I felt you would instantly tell my father I disappeared if I didn't inform you first." She admitted, tugging on the heart as she stared up at the Gatekeeper.

Heimdall studied her for a moment before nodding. "I will not inform your father and I will not have to lie. He will not notice your absence." He told her.

Helena grinned and was about to hug him when she remembered who she was talking to. A blush appeared on her face and she shut her eyes quickly, focusing on Thor's energy so she could get out of there. It didn't take long to find him. With a deep breath, Helena teleported to Midgard.


	14. Midgard

**Okay so I tweaked the timeline. Sue me. Actually, no, don't. I don't own anything. Anyways, it'll still go with the story it's just the order of things shifting around. I think it's still good. I hope.**

Helena looked around in confusion. What was this place? White walls, white floor, machines...They had nothing like this in Asgard. No room would be so plain looking except maybe the dungeons. It had a distinct clean smell though. Perhaps it was a healing room? Of course she didn't get a chance to really think on it when she noticed her brother strapped to a bed in the center of the room, struggling to get out of his bonds.

"Thor!" Helena cried out, rushing over to her brother.

"Sister!" Thor said in amazement, stopping his struggles for a moment to stare at her. Helena immediately started loosening the restraints with her magic, wanting to free her brother as quickly as possible. "What are you doing here? Has father sent you to retrieve me?" Thor asked hopefully.

Helena winced a little. "That is not the case brother. I came to make sure you do not end up dead on this planet." She told him, pulling her brother's wrist through one of the restraints. He twisted his wrist to bring feeling back into it but there was a saddened expression on his face. Helena grabbed her brother's hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry brother. Father will see in time though that you should be brought back." She assured him.

Thor nodded absently, pulling his other hand out of its restraint. Five minutes later he was completely free of the bed and dragging her out of the room. They were not very sneaky leaving, something that bothered Helena, but it did not seem like they needed to be. No one gave them a second glance as they walked briskly through the halls, trying to find their way out. Helena was trying not to make a comment about her brother being in such dull clothes but it was hard. Thor seemed to sense her want to make a joke and he gave her a sharp warning look that told her this was not the time for jokes. Helena pouted a little at that but didn't say anything. She did make him stop though once they were outside.

"Brother you have no clue where you're going. Stop and think." Helena told him, looking around at the strange world that was Midgard. It was very hot here, like summer on Asgard but a bit hotter. She looked at the strange metal things the Midgardians were climbing into with interest. What were those things.

"I know where I'm going sister. I am going to where I fell to beg father to let me come home." Thor answered before walking forwards.

Helena followed a few feet behind her brother. "Thor, I do not know if that is the best-." Her words were promptly turned into a scream of shock as one of the metal beasts ran into her brother. He fell to the ground, knocked unconscious by the blow. "Thor!" Helena shouted in concern, rushing to her brother's aid.

Mortals climbed out of the metal beast and rushed over to them, shock and concern on their faces. "Sorry! I swear I'm not doing this on purpose!" One mortal woman said as she rushed to Thor's side. Helena looked at her in distrust, clutching her brother's hand tightly. The mortal woman stared at her, unsure of what to say.

"That beast attacked my brother." Helena said, pointing towards the metal monster. The woman looked at her like she was slightly insane and Helena frowned, not enjoying that look at all. "Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to help my brother?" She asked angrily.

"That guy's your brother?" The other mortal woman asked. She had a strange frame on her face with circles of glass above her eyes. The contraption intrigued Helena but she didn't say so, only nodding.

"Great!" The man said, looking at the first woman. "We can leave him alone now! He has someone looking out for him!" The man said. He sounded very eager to get rid of Thor and Helena wondered what her brother did to make the man dislike him. Knowing Thor he had probably thrown a fit when he landed. Perhaps the man got in Thor's line of anger?

Helena turned to the woman, noting the way she didn't look ready to leave them be. "Please, I need your help. We have nowhere on this planet that I can take him for safety." She begged the woman, putting on her best pleading look. The woman looked over at the man, silently begging him with her eyes to let her help them. Helena turned to the man too. "You owe us." She told the man, her pleading tone becoming angry. "It was your beast that hit him." Helena said, waving a disgusted hand in the direction of the metal monster.

The woman smiled at the man. "Yes, it did. We have to pay them back for injuring him." She said, sounding like she had won a very big argument.

"Then let's put him back in the hospital!" The man said, gesturing to the building they had just left.

"No!" Helena said quickly, making the three mortals jump. Helena blushed slightly, she hadn't meant to shout so loudly or so quickly. "My apologies. It's just that I do not think it would be wise to take Thor back there." She said apologetically, looking over at the building then the mortals nervously. They were willing to take them back to a place that bound people to their beds. Were they trustworthy.

"We won't take him back, I promise." The woman assured me, smiling. Helena smiled back slightly, the woman seemed nice enough. "We can take you back to our place, get your brother fixed up, if you want." She said.

Helena nodded eagerly. "Yes that would be perfect! Thank you mortals!" She told them. Helena stood up, lifting her brother up as she did. She swiftly placed her arm around his waist and his arm around her shoulders before he could collapse, shocking the mortals. She realized they must not expect much speed and strength from her, they were such puny creatures after all. "He is light compared to Volstagg. Not even a bilgesnipe can move that man." Helena told them, smiling. They just kept staring. Helena shifted awkwardly beneath their gazes, wondering why they still looked confused. Were they unfamiliar with bilgesnipe? Or were they still marveling over the fact that she managed to move Thor on her own. Helena suddenly noticed her brother's weight and huffed. "He is still heavy though. Can we go?" She said, slightly angry.

The woman with the strange contraption on her face came over and helped Helena drag Thor inside the metal beast. Helena sat down beside her brother awkwardly as the mortals climbed into the beast. She watched the woman carefully as she twisted some sort of key. When then the beast roared Helena jumped, letting out a surprised shout of fear. Her hands balled up into fists as she prepared to fight the beast.

"Have you never been in a vehicle before?" The contraption woman asked.

Helena shook her head. "What is a vehicle? And what is that thing on your face?" She asked curiously.

The woman raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you serious?" The woman asked. Helena stared at her blankly, not understanding the woman's confusion. "Is she serious?" The woman asked the other two mortals.

"Shush Darcy." The kinder woman said from the front seat, not even looking back at this woman called Darcy.

Helena felt them moving and she scooted closer to her unconscious brother, wondering what exactly she had gotten herself into.


	15. A Day on Midgard

Thor woke up as they were getting him out of the metal beast. It took Helena barely five minutes to calm him down and explain that she would not let the metal beast hit him again. The woman named Darcy laughed at that and the woman, who Darcy called Jane, hit her upside the head. The man started mumbling about how this all was a very bad idea and Jane told him to shut up because Helena and Thor could hear him. The two Asgardians stared at the three mortals with mild interest but mostly confusion. Jane introduced them all properly to the Asgardians who replied somewhat curtly with their own names.

"If you guys are siblings how come you don't have the same last name?" Darcy asked in confusion. She did not get the Odinson, Odindottir, thing.

Helena looked at her brother in confusion, silently asking him if he understood the mortal, but he looked just as confused as her. "What is a last name?" She asked. Darcy just stared at her in shock.

Jane quickly brought them inside and found some clothes for Thor to change into since apparently he could not stay in the "hospital" garb. Helena sat awkwardly at a table with Darcy sitting beside her. Jane started reading a book and pacing while they waited for Thor to come out of what the mortals were calling a bathroom. Eric Selvig was staring at Jane with disapproval while glancing over at Helena every few minutes as she politely asked Darcy questions about the contraption on her face. Apparently they were called glasses and they helped her see. Helena stared at the little device with curiosity. How could something so simple looking fix sight?

Finally Thor opened the door to the bathroom and they could see through the mirror hanging by the door that he was messing with the waist of his pants, his chest exposed. Helena stared at the material in confusion. Mortals seemed to prefer it for their pants and it confused her. Darcy tapped Helena's shoulder and the girl turned to look at her. "You're brother is pretty cut for a crazy guy." Darcy said, looking over at Thor with an appreciative air about her. Jane shot Darcy a disapproving look though she did glance briefly over at Thor.

"What do you mean by that? My brother has no injuries." Helena said, looking at her brother in confusion as he came out of the bathroom. He smiled at her before looking down at his new pants then back up at her. Helena smiled at him. "I am just as confused brother. The mortals seem to like the strange fabric." She said, gesturing to their legs. Eric stared at her as if she was insane while Jane shifted uncomfortably at the attention her legs were suddenly given.

"Do you seriously not know what cut means?" Darcy asked, bringing the conversation back to her. Helena raised a confused eyebrow at her, wondering what other meaning "cut" had on Midgard, and Darcy let out a loud groan of surprise and what could have been overdramatic pain. "You're kidding me! Okay, cut means he's hot. Okay? You're brother is hot." She told Helena.

"Hot?" Helena asked in confusion. She looked over at her brother who looked just as confused as her. "Are you fevered brother?" She asked him. Thor shook his head, making his way to a nearby table covered with strange devices. Helena turned back to Darcy who was still looking at her like she was insane. "My brother is not fevered. Why would you say he was hot?" Helena asked.

"Really? _Really?_" Darcy asked incredulously. She looked over at Jane and Eric, shocked, then back at Helena. "You're brother is gorgeous! Do you understand that?!" Darcy shouted.

Helena would have been offended by the shouting if the statement wasn't so funny. She started laughing and Thor chuckled, grinning in an oh so smug way. "Apparently even on Midgard you are much desired brother!" Helena laughed out, making Thor's grin grow even wider. She shook her head, putting on a comically bemused expression. "Really, brother, I do not see it. Your looks would make the bravest warrior run in fear so why do women keep throwing themselves at your feet?" She said jokingly.

Thor put on a fake hurt expression though he was still smiling. "You wound me with your words sister! I think I am quiet handsome!" He replied cheerfully.

"To a bilgesnipe maybe." Helena joked. Thor guffawed, turning to the table and its strange contraptions.

Jane turned around just in time to see Thor pick up some strange Midgardian device. "Excuse me!" She said, rushing over to Thor. She quickly took the contraption from him, perhaps afraid that he'd break it. Thor watched her in slight amusement while she seemed somewhat unable to take her eyes off his chest. Helena smiled, trying to hold in her laughter, and gave her brother a look that told him to make the situation a little less awkward for the poor mortal woman. He nodded and started to put on the shirt but stopped when he noticed a strange thing on the front of the shirt.

"What is this?" Thor asked in confusion, showing it to Jane.

Jane looked slightly confused and then she noticed what he was pointing at. "Oh." She said, making a face as she did. She reached for the strange shiny square and ripped it off, making Helena wonder if all Midgardian devices were so easily destroyed. "My ex." Jane said in explanation, looking at the square with a bit of regret. "Good with patience and bad with relationships." She said, crumbling up the little square. "Uh, they're the only clothes I had that would fit you." She said awkwardly.

Thor turned away, looking a bit bored. "They will suffice." He said.

Helena frowned deeply and made sure her brother saw her disapproval. "Thor Odinson, you should be more polite." She said angrily, getting up from her seat to stand at her brother's side. She hit his arm sharply when she reached him, giving the mortal woman a slight smile. "Do forgive him, he's a bit of an oaf." She said.

"I am no oaf sister!" Thor protested furiously.

"If not you would be thanking this kind mortal woman for the garb she has provided you even if it is of lower standards than you are used to." Helena told him, just as furious. Thor rolled his eyes at her and earned a much more painful hit to the stomach that, surprisingly, he doubled over in pain from. The mortals in the room stared in shock at Helena while she stared at her brother, feeling somewhat apologetic but not really since he was being so rude. "My apologizes brother. I forgot you are mortal now." She said, putting a small bit of sincerity into her voice. Helena sighed as her brother groaned in answer, straightening up a little as the pain disappeared. She turned to Jane and smiled apologetically. "Thank you Lady Jane for your kindness. The garb you have provided is much appreciated." She said graciously.

Jane looked a little flustered but nodding slightly. "Uh you're welcome?" She said uncertainly.

Thor's stomach then let out a loud growl making Helena laugh a little. "Lady Jane, I do not mean to take advantage of your hospitality but if you could provide my brother with sustenance I would be very thankful." She told the woman.

Soon her brother was eating some strange mortal food called Pop Tarts. Darcy watched him in wonder as he ate one pastry after another, devouring them in seconds flat. Helena was not surprised though and she sat there awkwardly, watching the Eric man and Lady Jane talk in hushed voices. They were arguing, that much was clear, but it was a bit amusing to sit there and try to guess what they were saying. Unfortunately Helena didn't get to guess very long as Thor started booming about how he was still hungry after finishing the whole of the Pop Tarts provided for him. Darcy suggested they got to something called a diner and Jane agreed, simply because without food as a distraction Thor had gone back to picking up the strange mortal contraptions and messing with them. They did not take the metal beast this time, deciding to walk the short distance to the diner and soon they were seated at a table. Jane was polite enough to ask Helena if she wanted food and then force the girl to get something when she politely said no.

"She is a brave woman to speak to you in such a way sister." Thor commented before shoveling more food into his mouth.

"Indeed." Helena said, giving Jane a smile. The mortal woman looked confused but she smiled back a little. "I like her brother. She is a very kind woman." She said before taking a bite of what Jane called pancakes.

Jane started asking them questions the second they were done talking but neither Asgardian answered, too focused on the strange but delicious Midgardian food they were consuming. Darcy was marveling at how hungry Thor was, staring at him as if he was something from another world. Which he was. Helena chuckled lightly as she took a small sip from the drink Jane had gotten her. It was black which made Helena wary of it but the taste was not bad. A little bitter but not bad. Thor noticed the surprised look on Helena's face and instantly grabbed his own drink. He swallowed it all down in seconds then looked into the glass in slight surprise.

"This drink. I like it." Thor said.

"I know it's great right?" Darcy answered.

Thor then proceeded to smash the glass against the ground and let out a very loud "Another!" Helena didn't react, simply took another drink from her own glass, but the mortals seemed beyond shocked and they even screamed a little in surprise. Jane started apologizing to a woman looking on in disapproval while she cleaned up some of the glass. Jane straightened up, glaring at Thor as she did. "What was that?" She asked angrily.

"It was delicious. I want another." Thor answered, just as confused as Helena. Why were they acting this way? Did Thor do something wrong?

"Well you could have just said so." Jane said furiously, taking her seat.

Thor chuckled, amused despite her anger. "I just did." He said with a grin.

"No! I mean, ask. Nicely." Jane told him.

"I meant no disrespect." Thor said sincerely.

"Alright well no more smashing. Deal?" Jane said, still a bit angry but not as much.

Thor looked a tad bit angry at being treated like a misbehaving child but the look on Jane's face seemed to stop whatever fit he might have thrown. "You have my word." He said, surprising his sister with his sincerity. Helena gave her brother a shocked look that he ignored, choosing instead to stare at a somewhat flustered Jane. Never in her life had she seen her brother so easily effected by a woman and it intrigued her.

"Good." Jane practically squeaked out. Helena glanced between her brother and Lady Jane, a smile playing on her lips. Darcy managed to catch Helena's eyes and the two women exchanged knowing conspiratorial looks. Jane shot Darcy a glaring look that she very nearly turned on Helena before she remembered she barely knew the girl.

Helena and Thor went back to eating, neither one taking much notice in the way Jane and Eric turned towards the two men who had just walked in. Darcy stared at Thor almost as if she was in a trance. "Oh my God, this is going on Facebook." She said, pulling out a strange rectangular device. "Smile!" She commanded Thor. The god looked over at his sister questioningly but all she did was shrug, watching the rectangle with curiosity. Thor turned back to Darcy and smiled cheerfully though you could tell he was still confused. There was a click and then Darcy lowered the rectangle, looking at it as she did. Helena stared in wonder at the little image of her brother that appeared in the rectangle.

Cautiously, Helena reached out and took the rectangle from Darcy. "What sorcery is this?" She asked curiously, staring at it with wonder. Helena was considered a master of magic and yet she had never seen anything like this strange rectangle with its ability to capture reality.

"You've never seen a phone before?" Darcy asked in shock.

"Never." Helena admitted, reluctantly handing the phone back over to Darcy.

"What did it look like, the satellite?" Selvig asked the two men.

Helena, Thor, and Darcy finally turned to pay attention to the conversation. The man whose weight rivaled that of Volstagg turned to look at them. "Well I don't know nothing about satellites. But it was heavy." The man said. Thor immediately stopped eating and Helena nearly dropped her drink. They both stared at the man with intense interest now, wanting to hear more. "I mean, nobody could lift it." The man said.

Thor was out of his seat in seconds. He walked over to the man and grabbed his shoulder to catch his attention. "Which way?" He asked the man.

"Uh about fifty miles west of here." The man answered.

Thor grinned wildly and turned to face the table he left. "Sister, come." He ordered.

Helena rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat. "You know not of the word 'please.'" She told her brother angrily. Thor ignored her and walked out of the diner, Helena following close behind him in exasperation.

"But I wouldn't waste my time. Looked like the whole army was coming when we left." The man said as they disappeared through the door. Of course neither Asgardian paid him any attention.

"It is Mjolnir sister, I am sure of it." Thor said as they walked down the strange stone pathway the metal beasts were moving on.

"Father did throw it through the Bifrost. It is not surprising that it landed so close to you." Helena told him, smiling slightly. Her brother seemed so happy now that he knew his precious hammer was near.

One of the metal beasts nearly ran into them but it stopped just in time, letting out a strange squealing noise as it stopped. It then let out a loud trumpet like sound that made the two Asgardians give it confused but somewhat intrigued looks. If they were not busy they probably would have stayed to inspect the monster but they were busy so they walked briskly down the pathway, almost getting hit yet again. "Where are you going?!" Jane shouted, running after them.

"Fifty miles west of here." Thor informed her, still walking.

"Why?" Jane asked, sounding beyond confused.

"To get what belongs to me." Thor said simply without even looking at her.

"Oh so you own a satellite now?" Jane asked incredulously. Helena looked at her in confusion. What was a satellite?

"It's not what they say it is." Thor said. He looked a little annoyed but otherwise he was practically glowing. He was soon to be reunited with his precious hammer, his most prized possession in all the world. His happiness could not be contained.

"Well whatever it is the government seems to think it's theirs. Do you just intend to go in there and take it?" Jane asked.

Thor finally stopped and turned to the small woman. Helena hadn't really noticed before but the mortal women were short compared to her. She was just an inch shorter than Loki which meant she was at least two to three inches taller than Jane. "Yes." Thor informed the mortal woman.

Helena was concerned though. The way Jane talked made it sound like retrieving Mjolnir would be a challenge. A great challenge that could get Thor seriously hurt. "Lady Jane, would this 'government' attack Thor should he try to take back Mjolnir?" She asked with concern.

Jane looked slightly confused by Helena's lack of Midgardian things but she hid it well enough. "Yes they would! They'd try and stop him and if he fought back they'd kill him." She said. Helena had to admit the woman was very smart. She was taking Helena's obvious concern and using it against her, playing with her fears. Smart woman.

"Thor you can't go then!" Helena said, turning to her brother. He looked annoyed now, like he didn't care in the least if he got killed if it meant getting back Mjolnir. Helena frowned at him but then she noticed the sun. It had sunk since she arrived on Midgard and if her remembrance of the time differences between Midgard and Asgard was correct she would have to be getting back very soon. Helena thought up a way to keep her brother safe quickly and she let out a "defeated" sigh. "Fine Thor, you can retrieve that damnable hammer but only after I get back. It'll take me a day or two, no less." She told him.

Thor seemed to think it over. "I do need your help sister." He admitted rather grudgingly. Helena smiled slightly in triumph, of course he needed her. "But why must you leave?" He asked her.

Helena's smile slipped into a sad frown. "I did not come here with permission Thor, as you've probably guess. If I stay much longer they will find out that I've gone and punish me." She told him regretfully. It was already morning in Asgard if she was correct but no one would expect her to come to breakfast but someone would surely bring her a tray of food. They'd tell the queen if she wasn't in her room and then they'd search for her, something Helena couldn't risk.

Thor frowned deeply but finally he nodded. "Alright Lena, I shall wait for you to come back before I go." He told her. Helena grinned wildly, triumphant. "But I will not wait more than three days! If you are not back by then I will go on my own." Thor warned her.

"Oh I doubt I should take so long brother." Helena assured him with a smile. She turned to Lady Jane with a sweet pleading smile. "Lady Jane I realize it is rude to ask this but would you please keep my brother safe until I return? At the very least can you arrange that he have some place to sleep?" She asked/begged the woman. Jane looked over at her friends with uncertainty. She looked ready to say yes but it seemed she needed their permission. Darcy looked eager and was nodding vigorously but Selvig shook his head no. There were more votes for yes though and Jane finally nodded.

"Alright Helena, we'll take care of him." Jane told her.

Helena grinned and pulled the woman into a hug that shocked the mortal. When she pulled away Jane looked awkward, like she wasn't used to embraces. "Thank you so much Lady Jane! We are in your debt. May Fate smile upon you always." She told the woman. Jane stared at her in flustered confusion but mumbled out something that sounded roughly like a thank you. Helena smiled then turned to her brother. "You shall be on your best behavior whilst I'm gone Thor. Treat these gracious mortals with respect. I will be back soon." She told him. Thor nodded and opened his arms for a parting embrace. Helena wrapped her arms around Thor and gave him a hug, silently praying he'd be safe while she was gone.

"Try to return in a day sister." Thor told her when they broke apart.

"I shall try." Helena assured him before running off. She didn't want to startle the mortals by suddenly disappearing so she ducked between two buildings so they wouldn't see her. Helena took a deep breath and pictured her bedroom clearly in her mind. It was difficult to teleport without energy to focus on but she could still do it if she knew the place well enough. It took more energy but it was possible. Helena took another deep breath and teleported to her room, landing on her bed with a heavy thud. Helena looked at the crack between her curtains and saw the early morning light shining through. Helena sighed and performed a few simple spells to make it look like she had been there the whole night instead of on Midgard. By the time a soft knock sounded off through the room Helena was in a nightgown and curled beneath her covers, her eyes shut and her breathing calm.


	16. Morning

Loki quietly opened the door to his sister's room one handedly, a tray of food balanced carefully in his other hand. He quietly entered her room and shut the door. "Lena I know you are not asleep." He said, crossing the room to her bedside table. Just as he placed the tray down Helena opened up her eyes, the light in her eyes showing him that she'd been awake for hours. She stared at her brother, looking weary and confused. "Morning sister." Loki said with a cheerful tone only Helena could tell was fake.

Helena sat up in her bed, not even glancing over at the tray of food Loki had brought in for her. "How did you know I was awake?" She asked him.

Loki smiled at her knowingly though he looked a little sad. "I know you well sister." He told her, sitting down near her feet. "You get nightmares when you're upset." He said. Helena smiled at him, he did know her well, but she looked sad. Loki assumed it was because she had had a nightmare but in truth she was sad because he had no idea that she'd gone to Midgard and she didn't plan on telling him. Helena didn't know why but she felt like telling him would be a horrible idea.

"Why did you bring me breakfast brother?" Helena asked, looking over at her food for the first time.

"Better me than some maid that would try to get you up out of bed." Loki said jokingly. Helena laughed a little but gave him a look that told him to tell her the truth. Loki frowned slightly. "Mother came into my room this morning and begged me to take you breakfast to make sure you got up." He admitted.

Helena glared slightly, grabbing a piece of bread off of her tray. "Did she think I would lay in bed all day?" She asked furiously before taking a large bite of bread.

"I told her you would not need prodding but she would hear none of it." Loki told her, sounding annoyed with their mother.

"I have never stayed in bed before when I was upset." Helena said, placing the bread back on the tray. She grabbed her goblet of water and took an annoyed sip. "Even if I am distressed about Thor's banishment I do not plan on appearing weak before the whole of the realm. I will be treating this day like any other." She said angrily.

Loki smiled at his sister for her stubbornness and pride. Unlike Thor, Helena had the right amount of those qualities. "You do remember our plans for today, don't you?" He asked cryptically.

Helena gave her brother a teasing smile. "Is someone listening to our conversation brother? Should I speak in subtle code too?" She asked him jokingly. Loki rolled his eyes but smiled at her. Helena smiled back and took another drink of water. "Of course I remember Loki. Now go eat your own breakfast, which I know you haven't done yet, and get ready while I do the same." Helena told him.

"How did you know I had not yet eaten?" Loki asked as he stood up.

Helena smiled brightly. "I know you well brother." She said, repeating his words playfully. Loki laughed warmly but left his sister so she could eat. Helena let out a loud sigh when he closed her door, guilt stealing over her. She had never kept a secret from Loki before, not once, and here she was not telling him about her trip to Midgard. Helena felt tears well up in her eyes and she focused on eating to stop them. The whole time she ate she tried not to think about how much her life had changed since that stupid coronation.


	17. Early Morning Arguments

Helena had just changed into basic training clothes when she heard a loud knock on her door. She instantly knew it wasn't Loki, he would never knock that loudly, and she cautiously walked over to the door. As she walked over she used a bit of magic to figure out who was on the other side of her door. Sighing in annoyance, Helena opened her door and let in Sif and the Warriors Three. "Friends, how nice to see you." She said, not sounding all that cheerful.

"What did you find out Helena?" Sif asked the second she was in the room.

"At least let me shut the door before you start in on me Sif." Helena hissed at the warrior maiden furiously, sparks of magic flying off of her already. Helena was feeling a tad bit unstable at the moment and she didn't really want to deal with Sif's suspicions. Helena shut her door a little too loudly and wondered if Loki heard it. "I will warn you now Sif not to anger me today. It would be most unwise." She said furiously, turning to face her friends. That's when she noticed Loki appear leaning against her bedpost, a finger to his lips to tell her not to inform the warriors of his presence.

Sif's stern expression softened ever so slightly. "I will try Helena." She said though she sounded rather grudging. Helena knew that was the best she would get out of the warrior though and she did not press for a better promise. "Please Helena, tell us what you found out." Sif said.

Helena crossed her arms and leaned against her door, glaring slightly at Sif and Hogun. Volstagg looked at her apologetically while Fandral seemed cautious of her. He had been rejected just enough times to know to fear a woman's temper. "My brother had nothing to do with the Jotuns getting into the palace. That I am certain of." She told them.

"What exactly makes you certain?" Sif asked.

"What? Is my word not enough for you?" Helena snapped, pushing herself off her door and taking a step towards Sif. Sparks shot off of her and the warriors all took a step back, not wanting to get zapped. Helena took a deep breath, calming herself a little so that the sparks wouldn't reach her friends. "He pointed out that the evidence pointed to him. What person would admit that they looked guilty if they actually were guilty?" She said.

"A person who knows that they won't be as suspected if they admit they look guilty." Sif pointed out.

Unfortunately, Helena saw the logic in that. Loki _was_ smart enough to figure that out and it _had_ convinced Helena he was innocent. Loki wouldn't want her suspecting him if he had done it and he would do anything to make her believe it hadn't been him, Her suspicions rose up once again and she felt guilt roll around in her stomach. She hated suspecting her brother of anything. Loki felt anger rise up inside him as he saw the doubt and guilt in his sister's eyes. How dare they make her doubt his innocence! She was his twin, she was not meant to suspect him. She was meant to trust him completely. In the back of his head Loki knew it was his fault she was suspecting him but he pushed the thought away, replacing it with anger towards the warrior maiden who had brought his sister's suspicions back.

"Excuse me." Loki said just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. The four warriors instantly spun around, slightly frightened. Loki's expression was frightfully calm as he stared at the warrior maiden. "Why was I not informed of these suspicions myself? Also, why do you want so much for my sister to turn against me?" He asked, his voice containing the slightest growl.

"Volstagg and Fandral have nothing to do with this brother. They do not suspect you." Helena said, awkwardly walking over to her brother. She could feel his anger at the warriors but she could also feel his anger towards her. She felt ashamed but now that her suspicions were back she couldn't quench them.

Loki acknowledged that by giving the two male warriors somewhat thankful nods before returning his gaze to Sif and now slightly to Hogun. "Answer my questions." He ordered them though he made it sound like a polite suggestion.

Sif glared at him fiercely. "You yourself admitted there's evidence against you. Why would we tell the man we think may be the cause of all this our suspicions?" She asked furiously. Loki wanted desperately to roll his eyes or throttle the woman but he kept himself restrained. Helena was giving him those pleading eyes that he never was able to argue with, a fact that annoyed him greatly at the moment. "As for turning Helena against you, why wouldn't we? If you are the person who allowed the Jotuns to come in we do not want her around you in case you hurt her."

"What?!" Loki said, losing his temper. He took a threatening step towards Sif but Helena grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "You think I would hurt Helena?! My twin?!" He shouted at the warrior maiden.

"If our suspicions are correct then you have already hurt your brother so what would stop you from hurting Helena?" Sif said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Your suspicions are wrong woman!" Loki shouted at her. Helena held on tightly to her brother's arm though she was staring up at him with a slight fear. She hated seeing him furious. "I did nothing to my brother! If you suggest it again to me or to my sister I will not hesitate to-"

"Loki!" Helena snapped warningly, cutting him off.

Loki took a deep breath, calming himself for his sister alone. The Warriors Three seemed prepared to restrain him if he took even a step towards Sif but that meant nothing to Loki. No, the only reason he would not hit the idiotic woman was because of his sister. "Sif, I suggest you never speak of your suspicions to my sister again. And know this, I would never harm my sister. Next time you suggest it she may not be here to stop me from proving that." Loki said, throwing in a not so subtle threat.

"Loki, go." Helena ordered her brother. Loki nodded and she released him, allowing him to push past the four warriors without looking at them. Helena waited till her door was closed before turning a glare on Sif. "Leave, now. I do not want to speak to you again until Thor returns." She told the woman. Sif glared back at Helena for a minute before turning on her heel and marching from the room. Helena turned her attention to the Warrior's Three. "Hogun I will speak to you if you do not bring up this business again. Volstagg, Fandral, our friendship is as strong as ever. Thank you for trusting me and my brother." She told them somewhat sweetly. The three men nodded and quickly left the room, not wanting to stay and create and awkward silence. Helena went over to her bed and faceplanted onto the pillows. She screamed into one of her pillows, wondering once more if her brother had anything to do with the Frost Giants.


	18. Lunch with the Fam

**Weapon's vault scene after this so bear with me on the shortness!**

Helena slashed at the trainer with the wooden swords they were using for practice, her eyes filled with cold determination. He jumped back out of the way but had to jump back again when yet another slash was aimed at his stomach. Helena kept it up until his back was pressed against the palace wall. Annoyed by how easy she had won, Helena placed the tip of the wooden sword against the trainer's throat. "You're not a challenge." She said angrily, tapping his throat with the sword.

"I'm sorry Your Highness." The trainer said sincerely. Helena just huffed and pulled the sword away from him, walking back towards the center of the courtyard where they had started. "May I suggest you train with your brother or one of your friends? I assume they would be enough of a challenge for you." The trainer said as he followed.

"Loki refuses to train with me for fear of hurting me and at the moment I am on rocky ground with my friends. Only Thor would fight me now and prove a challenge." Helena said with a somewhat sad but mostly annoyed huff.

The trainer suddenly looked cautious and Helena frowned. "I am sure he would be happy to train with you were he here." He said awkwardly. Helena realized he was picking his words carefully as if he expected her to blow up at any moment.

Helena let out a long heavy sigh. "You do not have to be so cautious when speaking of Thor to me. I can handle talk of him." She told him. Helena stretched out her back while the trainer looked at the ground in embarrassed shame. "You may tell everyone else that as well should the topic occur. I am not as delicate at the moment as everyone seems to think." She said. Helena didn't sound angry but the trainer seemed to think she was because he visibly ducked his head further.

Before Helena could say anything else and before the trainer could reply a servant came walking up. "Your Highness." The servant said with a small polite bow. Helena nodded her acknowledgement and the servant smiled good naturedly at her. "The queen wishes for you to join her for the midday meal." She told her.

"Is it strictly me and her or will others be there?" Helena asked, tossing the wooden sword to the trainer who caught it expertly.

"I am unsure Your Highness. I think perhaps the prince will be joining you but I do not know." The servant said politely.

Helena bit her lip. If Loki was there she would be fine but if he wasn't she'd have to deal with her mother's "comforting" words alone. More than likely though he would be there. Their mother would want to talk to both of them at the same time to save time. She was a busy queen after all. "Where are we to be having this meal?" She asked the servant.

"The queen wished to have lunch in the royal family's garden." The servant told her.

"Tell my mother I will be there in a minute. I must get out of this sweaty training garb." Helena said. The servant nodded and was gone in seconds. Helena quickly thanked the trainer and left. Twenty minutes later she was dressed in a somewhat nice outfit and walking into the garden. "Hello mother." Helena called out politely when she saw her mother sitting at a table in the center of the garden. Her mother just faintly heard her and turned with a slightly strained smile, waving her over.

Helena walked briskly though the garden, trying to reach the center quickly though it was quite a bit away. The royal garden was gorgeous and large by normal garden standard's but the royal family's was much more than that. It was breathtaking and almost the size of the throne room. Frigga had wanted her own personal garden and she had wanted it to be the very best in Asgard so of course Odin had complied, allowing two whole courtyards to be destroyed so Frigga could have what she wanted. Helena originally thought it had been a wedding present but Frigga told her it was just a gift from the man who loved her and she loved.

"Hello sister." Loki said when Helena reached the large table. Helena hadn't noticed him when she entered the garden but that wasn't surprising. He was kneeled down beside a Midgardian rose bush their mother had managed to acquire. It was wilting slightly and Loki was playing with a bit of magic to heal it. Their mother was staring gratefully at him and Helena quickly figured out she had been begging him to fix the plant before Helena showed up.

"Hello brother." Helena said, taking a seat diagonal from their mother. "Taking up gardening are we?" She asked him jokingly.

Loki shot her an annoyed look but his eyes shined with amusement. "Perhaps you should help me sister. Gardening seems like a perfect hobby for a proper lady like you." He said with a sly smile.

Helena rolled her eyes, grinning. "Very amusing brother. I'm dying of laughter." She said sarcastically. Loki chuckled warmly and finished healing the wilting plant. He took the seat beside Helena before their mother could point out another plant she wanted healing. "With humor like that I'm surprised you don't have more friends." Helena said.

Loki laughed at that. Had anyone else told him that he would have glared so icily at them they would have run away in fear but this was Helena. She meant it merely as a joke, not as an insult. Besides, even though Helena was well liked by everyone who met her she only had four friends, Sif and the Warriors Three. Sad thing was the only one of those four she had never once argued with was Volstagg. So, no, Loki did not get mad at her for the joke. "With an attitude like that I'm surprised you don't have more suitors." He told her jokingly.

His sister made a face. "I'm glad I don't have suitors. Men are so unintelligent." She said, shooting him a sly smile when she was done speaking.

"I find that offensive as a man." Loki said dramatically.

"I find your face offensive." Helena said.

"Okay that's enough." Frigga said though she was smiling. Loki and Helena had always had such a strange banter when there were other people with them and it was amusing to watch. Frigga would have happily allowed them to continue and be happy but she knew her husband would not find the banter funny. "Your father will be here in a few minutes and I doubt he'll want to hear you two insulting each other." Frigga said.

At that, their smiles disappeared. Frowns replaced them quickly and Frigga frowned too, saddened by her children's reaction. Helena did not want to see to the man who had banished her brother to Midgard without any defenses while her brother didn't want to see the man who might not even be their father if his suspicions were correct. Frigga opened her mouth to say something but before she could Odin came walking around the corner looking incredibly weary. Helena was worried for her exhausted looking father for the briefest of seconds before her anger swallowed all other emotions. She fought hard to keep her magic from sparking but it was difficult and a headache quickly formed in her head.

"Hello father." Loki and Helena said simultaneously, nodding respectfully to their father at the same time. Odin nodded back before taking his seat beside Frigga.

The meal quickly turned awkward as they began eating the delicacies laid out on the table. Thor was always the one to break the silence with some story of a past battle they had all long since forgotten. Loki would roll his eyes and start a side conversation with their mother about something political while Odin listened politely to his oldest son's words. Helena would switch between the two conversations, making comments where she could. But Thor wasn't there to break the silence so they sat there eating in silence until Helena couldn't take it any longer.

"When does Thor get to come back?" Helena blurted out before she could stop herself.

Suddenly the meal became even more awkward, something none of them thought was possible. Loki gave his sister a "why did you ask that" look that made her now red cheeks go even redder. Odin sighed, placing down the chicken leg he'd been eating. He looked Helena in the eye, something he did when he wanted to get a point across. "Your brother will return when he proves himself worthy." He told her.

"Worthy of what exactly?" Helena snapped.

"Sister." Loki said gently, warningly. He didn't want her to be on the receiving end of Odin's anger. She'd get hurt if he yelled at her and she'd lash out at him, hurting him and earning a punishment. Loki would not be able to keep his own anger in check if she was punished and who knew what would happen once he started yelling.

"Worthy of his powers. Of his honor. Of his family." Odin said. Loki heard an implied "of the throne" and he felt his anger rise. He couldn't believe Odin still thought Thor deserved the throne.

Helena didn't hear the implied because it wasn't there so when she sensed her brother's anger she was confused. She shot him a small worrying glance before focusing her anger on their father. "And exactly how is he going to do that on _Midgard_?" She asked furiously. Odin sighed again but didn't answer her, making her angrier. "Of all the places you could banish him without his powers or Mjolnir you chose _that_ realm! A place he knows absolutely nothing about!" Helena said with a fierce glare.

Odin's soft gaze sharpened considerably. "Helena, that's enough. I don't want to hear another word concerning Thor." Odin said sternly.

Helena pushed her chair back, the wood scraping loudly against the small section of stone the table was set on. "Then I don't want to spend another minute in your company!" She said dramatically before storming from the garden.

Loki slowly got up from his seat once Helena was out of sight. "I am going to calm her down." He told his parents. His tone said there was no talking him out of it and he quickly followed his sister out of the garden, thinking about what could possibly happen in the next hour.

**Oh wow I'm falling behind on updates. Here are my excuses: I'm now currently working on four different fictions, school is coming up, I've been finding some very lovely fics that have had me distracted, and I'm working on a new original work that I'm thinking of putting on FictionPress or Wattpad or Noveljoy for people to read. Those are my excuses, pick whichever one gets me out of the most trouble. Lol, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this short little chapter. Fans of my Daughter of Tony Stark story should check my profile cause I put up the sequel :D Chocolates for all!**


	19. The Truth

Helena was, not surprisingly, waiting for Loki in his room when he found her. She was lying on his bed with a pillow covering her angered face. Loki quietly walked across the room and laid down beside her. She didn't acknowledge him so he just stared at his ceiling, his mind immediately drifting towards bothersome thoughts. Like how the way his twin looked at him had changed so much since he retrieved her and Thor from the training courtyard. She had every right to be suspicious of him and he knew that but it still stung. Helena had always been loyal to him. She had always trusted him more than anyone else. Seeing her doubt made him furious and he once more wondered if telling her about what he'd done would do any good. The doubt would go away but what would replace it? Surely not fear or hatred. Helena always could see his point of view on things. She would see that he was in the right.

"Brother." Helena said gently, her voice muffled considerably by the pillow. Despite that though Loki heard her and he was immediately ripped away from his thoughts. "I never doubted we were Odin's children when we were young, even if we look nothing like our brother. But I wonder now." Helena said softly. Mournfully.

Loki reached over and laced his fingers with Helena's. He squeezed her hand comfortingly, trying to pick out the right words. But for once the great Silvertongue didn't have them. He couldn't say a single thing to his twin right then that would comfort her. If he said anything about the Casket she would think he was eager to prove their heritage wrong. If he said that even if they found out they were Frost Giants Odin would always be their father he would be lying which he had done so much of already. Loki would not be able to consider Odin a father if their theory was correct and he was certain Helena would feel the same way. He wanted to tell her there was no reason to wonder but there was. He wanted to tell her they didn't have to go to the Casket but neither one of them would want to leave the mystery of their blue skin unsolved. Loki hated himself for not knowing the right words for once and he bit his tongue furiously.

Helena sighed deeply. She knew Loki couldn't think up anything good to say and she secretly hated him a bit for it. She knew he was keeping secrets from her and telling her lies so why not just tell a few more? They wouldn't fix anything but they would at least make Helena feel a little better. It made her miss Thor more. Thor understood that sometimes she needed a lie. "Let's just get this over and done with brother." Helena said sadly, getting up.

Loki nodded and let his sister pull him off his bed. Once they were standing the two teleported to the weapon's vault, landing not far from the Casket. Helena's hand fell from his and she walked behind the Casket, placing her back to the wall she knew the Destroyer was in. She stared down at the glowing blue relic and felt something stir in her chest. It felt like an instinct, something begging her to pick up the accursed thing. She'd never been so close to it which was probably why she'd never felt this before. She hated the feeling too, it made her sick. Loki saw her pale in the light of the Casket and he frowned sadly at her, placing himself on the other side of the Casket.

"Are you okay sister?" Loki asked his twin with concern.

Helena offered her brother a small sad smile. "No brother, I'm not." She told him.

Loki felt guilt roll around in his stomach and he looked at her in shame. "I'm sorry Lena." He told her, pouring sincerity into his voice. He tried to tell her without telling her that he never meant for her to get hurt but he wasn't sure she understood. Confused suspicion appeared on her face. So she understood how sorry he was but she didn't understand why. Good, Loki didn't want her to understand. Not now anyways. Later would be so much better.

"Don't apologize." Helena told him gently. She wanted desperately to ask him why he sounded so sorry but she knew now wasn't the best time. Helena wished desperately that her brother had nothing to do with all of this but as she stared at him, his face lit up by the Casket's light, she couldn't help but think maybe Sif and Hogun were right. Maybe Loki _had_ done the unthinkable. Helena felt her heart ache painfully at the thought. "Don't accidentally fire it at me okay?" Helena joked, gently placing her hands on the Casket's handles.

Loki chuckled though he didn't sound very amused. "Wouldn't dream of it." He told her, placing his hands beneath hers. They exchanged mixed emotion looks before gripping their hands tightly on the Casket and lifting it up.

The result was almost instantaneously. Helena noticed it first since she felt the unbelievable power in the Casket before Loki. Her eyes instantly focused on her brother's hands and she gasped quietly as she saw the blue rapidly spreading. She watched as it traveled farther and farther and when she finally looked up at her brother's face it was in horror. Red eyes instead of the familiar blueish green stared back at her, horror that mirrored her own shining in them. He was completely blue and there were Jotun markings on his skin. Helena wanted to scream. She wanted to run from her brother, frightened so much by his changed appearance that she was literally shaking. Her fear only mounted though when she saw the blue on her arms. Saw the markings on her skin. She was a beast. A monster. One of those _things _that killed for pleasure. Helena couldn't help it. She screamed.

Still screaming, Helena stumbled back against the Destroyer's wall and slid down it. She reached up to cover her face but when she saw her blue skin she let out a strangled sob. Her hands, they were monster's hands. She didn't want them touching her but they were _hers_. Helena felt tears running down her cheeks, down a monster's cheeks.

"Helena." Loki said, his voice dripping with frightened worry. He put the Casket down and rushed over to his twin, kneeling down in front of her. He reached for her hand but she screamed and pulled it away. Loki felt his heart shatter at the fearful look in his sister's eyes. She thought he was a monster. He couldn't blame her, he was trying so hard to ignore her own looks, but it still broke his heart. "Lena." He whispered. He heard the slight crack in his voice but his sorrow outweighed his pride and he ignored it.

"Why are we like this?" Helena asked him, her voice coming out breathy and terrified. Her fingers ghosted over the blue on her arm and it looked like she wanted to claw it away but was too terrified to touch it. The blue was starting to go away but not fast enough. Not fast enough. "Are we cursed?" She asked her brother, tears blurring her vision. She wanted them to be cursed. If they were then this, this horrific thing, could be reversed. They wouldn't truly be monsters if they were cursed.

"No." Odin's voice rang out clear as a bell in the mostly silent room. Loki stood and spun around in the same motion, surprised by their father's, _Odin's_, sudden appearance.

Helena let out another strangled sob. No, no they had to be cursed. They had to be. "What then? What's wrong with us?" She asked the Allfather, sounding like a frightened child.

Loki reached down, silently begging his sister to take his hand. Helena actually did take it this time. He was back to what she always considered normal which meant she looked normal too. The weren't normal though. They were monsters. Loki lifted her to her feet and she instantly wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She didn't care if he was a monster then, the comfort the embrace brought her prove to her without a doubt that this was still the brother she knew and loved. So long as she didn't look at him she'd be able to pretend he wasn't a monster. That_ she_ wasn't a monster.

"What are we?" Loki asked, his voice laced with suppressed anger. He needed it confirmed. He needed to know exactly how they'd ended up like _this_.

"You are my children." Odin answered immediately.

Loki was shaking ever so slightly and Helena could feel it. "What more than that?" He asked. Slowly he slipped out of his sister's embrace, taking her hand in his as he did. Helena watched the floor as he gently pulled her towards Odin, his grip on her hand stronger than iron. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day was it?" Loki asked the Allfather, finally voicing the theory they'd never truly said outright.

Odin was silent as he watched them approach. Helena looked up, blinking tears out of her eyes, and saw the pained conflicted look on his face. That look alone confirmed their fears but he punctuated it with a simple "No." Helena let out a pained sound, burying her face in Loki's arm. He ran his thumb over her knuckles but didn't say anything, too fixated on the liar before them. "In the aftermath of the battle I went into the Temple and I found two babies. Small, for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's children."

Just like that, their whole world came crashing down.

Everything they'd ever known was a lie. Odin was not their father. Frigga, loving wonderful Frigga, was not their mother. Their companions were their enemies. Their home was a prison. Thor was not their brother...Helena shook violently and she stumbled away from Loki, forcing her hand out of his. He didn't even look at her as she fell to the floor, the weight of this revelation crushing her. They were misfits among abominations, runts that should have died but were raised to believe a lie. They deserved death.

"Why? You were knee deep in Jotun blood, why would you take us?" Loki asked. He sounded so calm and yet Helena could hear the pain in his voice. The slight shake that told her his own heart was just as broken as hers.

"You were innocent children." Odin said.

Loki shook his head, not believing it for a second. Odin didn't do _anything_ without a second motive. A king always had ulterior motives. "No. You took us for a purpose. What was it?" He asked. Helena balled her hands into fists and dug them into her forehead, huge sparks of magic flying off of her. She wanted Loki to stop talking but she couldn't. She wanted to know too despite how much pain she was in. Loki got zapped in the back by a bolt of her magic but didn't even notice, his gaze locked on the silent Odin. "Tell me!" Loki shouted, sounding desperate and broken and so much like a child that Helena let out a strangled sob. Her brother wasn't meant to sound like that.

"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace, through you." Odin said. His voice got gentler as he spoke, as if he actually realized how hurt they were. He looked over at Helena but she didn't have the energy to try and pull herself together. She hoped he felt horrible. She hoped he hated himself for hurting them like this. "But those plans no longer matter." Odin said, sounding resolved. The plans didn't matter. Helena couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not.

"So we are no more than stolen relics? Locked up here until you might have use of us?" Loki's voice shook and Helena could see the tears on his cheeks.

"Why do you twist my words?" Odin asked, sounding pained.

"You could have told us what we were from the beginning! Why didn't you?!" Loki shouted.

Helena looked up at the Allfather though she couldn't see his face clearly. For a second she wondered why but then she realized her tears were blinding her again. She blinked and they rolled down her cheeks, falling to the floor when they reached her chin. "You are my children. I wanted only to protect you from the truth." Odin said. She had never heard his voice that soft before. Never heard him sound that truthful. They were his children. Still, he considered them his. Some of her pain ebbed away, replaced with the hope that some of the lie that was their life was truth. Who said family was only blood?

"What because we're the monsters parents tell their children about at night?" Loki asked, no longer trying to keep the shake out of his voice. Helena buried her face in her hands with a pain filled scream. The hope that they were still apart of a family was dashed aside as her brother reminded her of what they truly were. Monsters. "You know it all makes sense now. Why you favored Thor all these years." Loki suddenly snarled. Why was anger Loki's defense mechanism? Why did his pain always get replaced with anger? Helena shook but didn't look up at her brother as he continued to speak, actually frightened of him. "Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"

Helena waited for Odin's response, unable to say anything herself. Unable to tell her brother to be silent, that he was wrong. It never came though. The silence frightened her more than Loki's yelling and she looked up, her eyes immediately focusing on her brother kneeling over an unconscious Odin. "Lokiwhatdidyoudo?" She asked in one breath, her pain disappearing as terror swept over her. Slowly, as if she was sleeping, she made her way over to her brother and Odin. She reached towards the king but never touched him. Her hand hovered over him and she stared at it, thinking she couldn't let a monster's hand touch the Asgardian king. "Callforhelp." She ordered her brother, her voice practically a whisper.

Loki nodded almost numbly. "Guards!" He called out. His voice betrayed the calm mask on his face. It shook and he sounded panicked, afraid.

The guards came running in, instantly going to Odin's side. "What's wrong with him? What happened?" One of them asked, looking at them.

"We don't know. He just collapsed." Loki told them. The guards nodded and started talking quickly about what they should do. Loki used a bit of magic to call for healers and to alert Frigga. The second they were in the vault though he grabbed Helena's hand and teleported them to his rooms. "Helena." He said gently when his sister scrambled away from him, heading for the door.

"No Loki. No." Helena snapped furiously, stopping at the door. Loki stared at her in shock and hurt. She never snapped at him like that and she never looked this weak, this pathetic. "I can't be around you. I can't be around anyone. I need to be alone." Helena told him. The desperation to get away was in her voice and Loki knew it would be selfish to make her stay with him so he would feel better.

"Go then sister." Loki said, waving her away as he made his way to his bed.

Helena shot him a thankful look but it was ruined by the tears streaming down her cheeks. She teleported to her room, landing on her bed with a thud that Loki heard through the walls. He would have chuckled but he was too angry. Too hurt. Helena buried her face in a pillow and sobbed, wanting nothing more than for all of this to just be some horrible nightmare.

**I apologize greatly for my lack of writing. School started up again and today I received five assignments in four different classes, three of those are essay papers. I will try, try, try to write more and get it up on here but I won't promise anything.**


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